Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt
by SClownzZzZz
Summary: Sequel to Strangetown, Meet the eXtremes: Ripp Grunt is excited when he finds out his older brother Tank is leaving for college. Unfortunately for Ripp, he is sent to college along with him, where he is forced to confront his feelings for Isabella. R&R. Chapter 27 Up: Senior Year begins.
1. Introduction

******Disclaimer:** I do not own the Sims.

* * *

**Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt **by SClownzZzZz

_Introduction_

Not a lot of things got Ripp Grunt excited these days. But his older brother Tank leaving for college was a cause for celebration.

"It's happening, I can't believe it's actually happening."

Ripp Grunt is standing in the doorway of his brown and beige military-style house watching Tank and his father, General Buzz, load the rest of Tank's stuff into the car. His younger brother Buck, comes up behind him.

"Ripp?" Buck asks, "Why are you so happy Tank is leaving?"

"I'm not Buck," Ripp lied, "I'm just happy that Tank is exploring his options."

Sure, Ripp could've told Buck the truth. He could told him that he absolutely hated his brother and his dream was for Tank to leave and never come back, but he didn't want to make things more complicated than they already were. Buck's family life was already messed up from growing up without a mother and Ripp didn't want his brother's life to explode in his face like his has.

The last five years of Ripp's life had been horrible. For a while he felt like he had no purpose to live, that is, until a few months ago when this strange family moved into the neighborhood. He came over to welcome them to Strangetown, then he met her…Isabella eXtreme.

Isabella was different than anyone else he had ever met in Strangetown. She was nice and actually listened to people-even the crazy ones-and unlike Ripp, she didn't have any major family issues. Maybe that's why he liked her so much, because she was the only stable thing he had in his life.

He used to see her every day, that is-until her brother Brent and Tank became enemies. Then Ripp was banned from seeing her by her father, and they were forced to sneak out at night to see each other. But they didn't mind, when they were together things felt like a fantasy to Ripp. Like any day he was going to wake up and find himself right back where he started, miserable. They were going to run away together, but unfortunately Ripp didn't make it there in time and Isabella thought that he stood her up. And that was the end of their fantasy, the end of Ripp Grunt's life…

…or so he thought.

"ALRIGHT MY TWO INFERIOR SONS, GET OUT HERE AND INTO THE CAR!" General Buzz shouted from the driveway.

Ripp and Buck raced out of the house and climbed into the backseat of the van. Ripp turns to Tank who is sitting in the front seat of the car.

"So Tank, are you excited for college? It'll sure be an experience. You know I'm going to miss you."

Tank turns around and gives Ripp a glare, "Don't pretend like you care, I know you've been counting down the days until I leave."

"Psh, well obviously-oww!" Tank punches Ripp in the arm, a smile spreading on his face. Ripp rubs his arm in pain before leaning back down in his seat and gazing out the window. "And you wonder why I'm counting down the minutes," he says to himself.

The ride to Sim State was a whole lot quicker than Ripp expected and before he knew it they were parked in front of the university unloading the car. There seemed to be a lot more luggage than Ripp remembered.

"Alright well, I guess this is it," Ripp says to Tank while walking towards the car, "I'll guess I'll see you never."

"Wait a minute boy," General Buzz states putting his hand in front of the door of the van, "You're going too."

"WHAT?"

"Hey if I'm losing the son I love the most, then I have to lose the one I hate the most to make it even. I'm not making two trips out here," General Buzz replies.

"But you will already have to make two trips. What about Buck?"

"Well I'm not making three," General Buzz states throwing a suitcase into Ripp's arms, "Now get out of my sight before I change my mind."

Ripp groans before heading into the building. General Buzz turns to Tank, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'm so glad that you're going away to college Tank, here you won't have to worry about anything. Like Johnny Smith and the eXtremes…"

"Uhh, dad?" Tank points to the eXtremes who are loading their car next to them.

General Buzz looks up at the sky, "Aww man! Why did you have to do this to me?" he sighs before turning back to Tank, "Well, have a good time."

General Buzz climbs into the van with his one remaining son and drives away, leaving Tank and Ripp alone.

"I don't think he has any idea what he's just done," Tank says to Ripp, who is walking out of the door of the building.

Ripp sighs, "I'm doomed."


	2. Orientation

_Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt_

_Chapter One: Orientation_

"I can't believe you're doing this!" Isabella exclaims to her brother Brent, who is busy packing up the rest of his belongings and placing them into a cardboard box.

"Isabella, you knew this day was coming, I've been talking about going to Sim State for months!"

"I know, it's just-why does it have to be now?" Isabella asks, leaning up against Brent's bed.

"Because fall semester is about to start, if I don't go now then I'll have to wait a whole year."

"But I don't want you to go," Isabella sighs and looks down at the floor, "Besides, who's going to look out for you while you're there? And make sure you that you don't get into any fights?"

Brent drops the box and walks over to Isabella, he leans against the wall and turns to her, "I don't know."

Isabella sighs, "I wish I could go with you."

"Yeah, but you know what dad said, you're too young," Brent replies facing his young sister.

"True," Isabella states before looking up, "But that was six months ago, maybe he changed his mind…"

_Five Minutes Later_

Isabella is standing in the kitchen trying to reason with her father who is seated at the table reading the newspaper, "Why can't I go?"

He places his paper down and looks at her, "Isabella, I already told you, you're too young to attend college right now. Only an idiot would send a sixteen year old to college, that's practically setting their child up for failure! Besides, your mother and I both agreed that we want you here for a few more years."

"But who's going to look after Brent and make sure that he doesn't get into any fights?" Isabella asks, turning to her father.

"Don't worry about your brother, he'll be fine. This shouldn't concern you."

"But dad, please, you have to let me go with him! He's the only thing I have left-you can't take him away too!" Isabella pleads.

"I'm not taking anyone away Isabella, besides everyone else who lives in this house isn't leaving. Now I'm sorry, but I've made up my mind, you are not going to college with your brother."

Isabella looks down at the floor and sighs; a gentle hand is placed on her shoulder, "Let her go Alban," it speaks.

Isabella turns to the source recognizing her grandmother's voice, and sure enough, Gramma eXtreme is standing right next her. "Let her go to college with Brent," she speaks again.

Alban gets out of his seat and turns to her, "Mom, you can't be serious."

"I'm very serious," Gramma replies, "Can't you see how dedicated she is? Isabella really wants this and she definitely has the grades for it."

"I don't want to set her up for failure by allowing her to go too early," Alban replies.

"You're not going to, she'll be fine. Besides, this will be better for both her and Brent, they'll look out for each other. This will be a good experience for them."

Alban glances from Gramma to Isabella, "Well…alright," Alban answers, "But if you don't pass first semester with flying colors, you're coming home."

Isabella nods, "Alright," she throws her arms around him, "Thanks daddy."

Alban sighs and hugs her back, "You're welcome," he speaks before letting her go and exiting the room.

Gramma goes over to Isabella and whispers in her ear, "Good job Isabella, now go get him."

Isabella steps back and gives her grandmother a look of confusion, "What are you talking about Gramma?"

Gramma smiles and laughs, "You'll see."

_Meanwhile at Sim State University:_

"Hurry up Tank!" Ripp calls from the front porch of Cassandra's dormitory, "We're going to be late!"

Tank groans and walks over to him, his arms crossed, "I still can't believe that they're making us go on this stupid tour," he states.

"Come on, it's not that bad," Ripp replies, "Besides, it would be nice to know where everything is."

"Well, that's why they invented maps," Tank responds.

"Just come on!" Ripp states heading towards the crowd of people forming on Central Campus. A tour guide emerges from the crowd, dressed in a black Llamas blazer, she waves to them.

"Hello everyone and welcome to Sim State University. Today, I get the honor of showing all of you freshmen around campus, who's excited?"

The crowd is silent.

"Great! Now here we go!" The tour guide states before leading them across the street.

Tank turns to Ripp and groans, "Do you think she talks like that all the time?"

Ripp tries to force a smile, "Let's hope not."

_Meanwhile: Down the Street_

Isabella and Brent are following behind a different tour guide with maps in their hands, gazing out at the beautiful scenery around them.

"Welcome to Sim State University," the tour guide addresses the group, walking backwards down the sidewalk, "This university was founded in 1923 by a group of intelligent students that all had a dream, to establish an institution with unlimited possibilities and bathrooms…"

"Wow," Brent says turning to his sister, "That sounds like quite a dream."

Isabella laughs, "I guess you could say so."

The tour guide, wearing a llama blazer, stops the group and points to a tall, dusty gray building. "This is the Old Sim State Water Tower, not to be confused with the New Sim State Water Tower that is currently under construction across the street," the tour guide points to the New Water Tower, sure enough, it is surrounded by a gate with worker's trying to repair it on the inside.

"Wow, this place is amazing," Brent says awed, "Check out the street signs Isabella, they're shiny!"

Isabella stops looking at the Water Tower and turns to gaze at the new silver signs. Her heart pounds when she reads the name on the sign. "Tripp Avenue?" she manages to squeak out.

"Come along now everyone, we have so much more of the campus to see!" The tour guide intrudes, rounding up the other members of the group.

There Isabella stood motionless in silence. _"Tripp,"_ the sign's name repeated in her mind, _"Tripp, tripp, tripp…Ripp."_

She could never get away from him, but did she really want to? Of course she did, that's why she was forbidden to see him, that's why she came to college. Okay, so maybe the first reason was her dad's doing, but she definitely came to college to get away from him and start over…right? _"That's what college is," _Isabella reminded herself,_ "A fresh start."_ Well, that's what everybody says.

"Isabella? Are you okay?" Brent asks, frantically waving his left hand in front of Isabella's face, trying to snap her out of it.

Isabella gently shakes her head and makes eye-contact with her brother. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Great," Brent replies, "Cause we're about to get our dorm assignments! Come on!"

Brent grabs Isabella by the arm and leads her towards the front of crowd. Their tour guide is seen at the front of the crowd trying to pass out the housing folders. They wait until the crowd lessens before retrieving their folders. Brent and Isabella both open up their folders and begin to flip through the pages.

"Where are you being housed?" Brent asks his little sister, flipping through the pages of his housing packet.

"Hmm, let me see," Isabella responds, she flips through her packet and stops at the last page, "Cassandra's dorm."

"Cool, I'm housed there too!" Brent replies in excitement.

"Well of course you two are in the same dormitory," the tour guide intrudes behind them, "We tend to stick siblings together; especially if they're premades."

"Premades?" Isabella says in confusion.

"It's a term for the types of sims you are," the tour guide responds kneeling down close to Isabella, "I suggest you get used it. You're going to be hearing it a lot here."

The tour guide leaves and heads toward the rest of the group, leaving Brent and Isabella behind. "What's her problem?" Brent asks, watching her walk away.

But "I don't know" was all Isabella could say in response.

_Meanwhile: In Cassandra's Dormitory_

Ripp is standing at the doorway of Tank's dorm room watching him move his stuff in, "Unbelievable," Ripp states, "Of all of the dorms that I could live in on campus, I get stuck in the same one as you."

Tank puts down one of the boxes that he had been carrying on his bed and turns to brother annoyed, "Tough luck princess, deal with it, 'cause I'm not going away."

"Unfortunately," Ripp adds softly.

Tank quickly turns around and stares at his brother, "What was that?"

"I said, I should probably be leaving," Ripp says taking off down the hall. He knocks on the door of the single room that separated his room from Tank's, the picture frame was empty. _"Hopefully a weirdo won't be next to me, or worse-two weirdos," _Ripp thinks gazing at the empty dorm room on the other side of his.

Ripp walks inside of his room and sprawls out on his empty bed; he looks up at the ceiling and sighs, "_Please, please give me a break. Please tell me this isn't over before it even started…"_

_Meanwhile: Outside in the Hallway_

Brent and Isabella are walking down the hallway towards Brent's room, carrying the rest of his stuff. Brent stops in front of his room-the third down on the left-and takes out his keys. In a few seconds they are inside his room, putting his belongings down on top of the bookshelf.

Isabella breathes a sigh of relief, "Well I'm glad that's over."

"Yeah," Brent responds, pausing to take a breather, "Now we just have to rearrange your room."

Isabella laughs, "Don't worry about it Brent, that can wait until tomorrow. Besides, I already found everything that I need for my classes."

"Staying ahead of the game huh Izzy?" Brent responds, "That's just like you, doing things the first possible second that you get the chance."

"Uhh, Brent?" Isabella asks.

"Yes?" Brent replies.

"Classes are tomorrow," Isabella states, trying to keep herself from smiling.

Brent groans, dropping half of his papers on the floor; he heads towards the door, "Well, I got to go get books."

"Umm…?" Isabella speaks, pointing to the pile of papers spread across the floor of his dorm room.

"I'll get to that eventually," Brent responds, before racing out the door.

Isabella sighs, shaking her head slowly from side-to-side, _"Sometimes I don't know about him."_


	3. Freshman Year: First Day of Classes

_Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt_

_Chapter Two_

_Freshman Year: First Day of Classes_

Ripp groans as he sits up, clenching the side of his aching head in pain, _"Ugh, it feels like I slept on top of a tractor,"_ Ripp says to himself. He pauses before gazing up at the scenery around him, realizing that he has absolutely no idea where he is. Ripp picks himself up and begins to look around. Ripp turns and gazes at the forest of trees a few meters away from where he is standing. The wind gently blows into the flourishing forest, causing the branches to move, seeming as though they were dancing. "Wow," Ripp speaks, his voice barely louder than the surrounding wind, "This is so beautiful, I wonder if-"

"Hey Ripp!" Ripp stops and abruptly turns at the sound of his name, he turns around finding Ophelia and Johnny right in front of them, heading towards the forest. "Come on! We're going to be late!"

"Late to what?" Ripp asks, taking a step closer to his friends.

"To Olive's gingerbread house festival, duh!" Johnny responds racing into the forest, "Hurry up slowpoke!"

"Gingerbread house?" Ripp turns to ask Ophelia and Johnny, but they have already vanished into the forest, "Hey! Wait up!" Ripp responds racing after them.

The trees lining either side of him begin to blur as Ripp runs after his friends, getting closer and closer to the gingerbread house in the distance. "I'm almost there!" Ripp manages to speak out between breaths. All of a sudden he is surrounded by darkness, Ripp stops running and tries to back away, but the darkness overcomes him.

He awakens to the sounds of voices, he opens his eyes finding everybody in Strangetown surrounding him inside of the gingerbread house. Ripp's face lights up, seeing his two friends behind the crowd.

"Johnny! Ophelia! Thank goodness I found you guys!"

"Silence boy!" General Buzz interrupts near the front of the crowd, his stern face level with Ripp's, "Nobody cares what you have to say! You're the reason why we're here! Our leader told us to bring you!"

"Huh?" Ripp asks, his eyes scanning the crowd of people surrounding him, wondering who was missing. There was his father, his two brothers, Ophelia, Johnny and Olive-

"There you are!" a woman wearing an elegant pink dress, walks over to him glaring. Her brown eyes feeling as though they were piercing through his soul. "I was wondering when you would finally show your face around here."

"Mom?" Ripp calls out in disbelief, suddenly finding it very difficult to speak, his throat clogging up before his very eyes, "Wha-what are you doing here? I-I thought you were dead."

"I was dead," Lyla speaks crouching down in front of him, putting her mouth up against his ear, "Because you killed me," she completes, moving his head to face her with her cold rigid hand, "Now I'm going to kill you!"

"WHAT?" Ripp screams out, feeling weaker by the minute, "Mom, what are you talking about-?"

Lyla turns to the others, fire and hatred flaring in her eyes, "Bring out your weapons everyone, I want him dead before the sun sets!"

Ripp gasps, quickly getting up from off of the ground and racing towards the door, he tries to open it, but the handle won't budge.

"Come on, let…me…out!" Ripp says, struggling to open the door handle.

"Forget it boy, there's no way out of here," General Buzz says coming straight towards him, a rifle in his hands, "Your life is over!"

Ripp backs up against the door, watching the entire town enclose around him. He braces himself; preparing for the worst.

A white light shoots through the window of the house, separating Ripp from the crowd. "Ripp!" a voice calls from the window. Ripp lifts his head up and looks toward the source of the voice. There in front of him, is Isabella, her long red hair flowing in the breeze-released from her standard ponytail, her gray eyes turning silver in a long blinding white dress. She reaches out her hand to him.

"Izzy!" Ripp calls out racing towards the window to face her.

Isabella continues to reach out her hand for him, "Come on! I'm getting you out of here! You have so much to live for!"

Ripp looks from the crowd, back to Isabella. He looks at her hand in hesitation.

"What are you waiting for Ripp? I help you, I can get you out of here, but can only get you so far. You'll have to do the rest of it on your own."

Ripp continues to glance from the crowd to Isabella, unsure of what to do.

"Listen to me Ripp, it isn't over," Isabella speaks over the silence, "You have to trust me, it's not over…"

_Over…_

_Over…_

_Over… _

…it's over.

Ripp quickly sits up in his bed, panting heavily. He slowly scans the room, finding everything as it should be. No angry mob of family members, no gingerbread house, no undead mother, no Isabella, just a desk with piles of books on it.

Ripp sighs and shuts his alarm clock on, he groans realizing what day it is. Ripp gets out of his bed and gets dressed, he walks out of his room and heads into the bathroom. Reaching the sink, he turns on the faucet and begins to toss water on his face.

"_Man, I really need to stop going to bed at three in the morning. What was all that about?" _Ripp turns off the faucet and stares at his reflection in the mirror; trying to get used to his new young adult face. _"This is getting weirder by the minute." _

Ripp's watch begins to beep, he glances down at it and reads the time, "Ten o'clock? Crap! I'm going to be late to my first class!" Ripp races into his room and grabs his backpack, heading towards the door, cutting off his brother on the way there.

"Hey!" Tank exclaims startled, returning from his first class and heading towards his room.

"Sorry Tank, I gotta go!" Ripp calls over his shoulder running through the double doors of Cassandra's dorm.

_Meanwhile: On Central Campus_

Isabella is walking down State Street confused out of her mind. In one hand, she is carrying all of her art supplies, in the other, an open map. Isabella struggles to find her way to her class. After a few minutes of struggling, she folds up the map in frustration.

"_Okay, this isn't working,"_ she says to herself, _"I know, maybe I should ask someone."_

Isabella turns to a college student who is walking by. "Excuse me, do you know where the art building is?"

"Get lost townie!" the college student responds, walking right by her.

"But I'm not a townie!" Isabella calls out; she turns to a girl dressed in a blue hat and a matching blue sweater, "Excuse me, but I'm kind of lost. Do you think you can help me find my class?"

"Go back to Strangetown you brat!" the girl responds walking right past her. Isabella backs up, taken off-guard and accidentally bumps into someone.

"Hey, watch it!" the guy responds, "What's your problem?" he asks before walking away.

Isabella sighs, watching him walk away, "I don't know," she says to herself.

"Oh, don't mind him," a girl responds standing right behind her, "He's just upset because he's going to be here forever."

Isabella turns around, finding a girl with long blonde hair and gray eyes, wearing a mid-length bright pink dress behind her. "Hey, I'm Kea. Kea Kalson," the girl responds, holding out her hand.

Isabella smiles and shakes it, "Isabella eXtreme."

"eXtreme huh?" Kea says, "You must be from Strangetown then."

"How did you know?" Isabella asks, picking up the rest of the stuff that she dropped when she collided with that other guy.

"Because, you have an unusual last name. Most people here have really similar last names. You have no idea how many people I've met here with the last name Wade."

Isabella laughs, "Why is that anyway?"

Kea bends down and hands Isabella her last book, she stops to look at her, "It's because they're college townies," she replies.

"College townies?" Isabella repeats, "What does that mean?"

"A college townie is a special kind of sim that is made to attend a university. They are created to give the college a bigger student body, so the premade sims have someone to go to college with-which in your case, is you."

"I'm a premade sim?" Isabella asks, somewhat surprised by this news.

"Yep. Unlike college townies, premade sims actually get to grow up and escape the college cycle. Unfortunately, for sims like me, I'll be stuck in college forever," Kea says, walking down the street with Isabella, "Come on, I'll take you to the art building."

"Forever?" Isabella repeats, stopping in her tracks, "Well, isn't there a way out?"

Kea sighs stopping along with her, "There's only one way to get out of the dreaded college townie cycle, and it's never been done before."

"Well what do you have to do?" Isabella asks, her eyes on Kea.

Kea sighs, "In order to escape the cycle, a premade sim has to ask you to come with them. You know, move in with them when the premade sim grows up into an adult. But who would want to do that when there's so many premades out there? That's why so many of us have already given up. Cause let's face it, we're all just going to be juiced anyway."

"Juiced?" Isabella repeats, a look of confusion forming on her face, "Why would you guys be juiced?"

"Well, because we're college townies," Kea says turning to Isabella, "We have no families and no future so they take the college townies that have been at the university the longest and make them into juice for the Elixir of Life."

"That's terrible!" Isabella exclaims, turning towards Kea, "That isn't fair!"

"I know, but there's nothing we can do about it," Kea says her eyes to the ground, "That's just the way things are around here. All of us are only a few steps away from being juiced."

Isabella stops walking and holds onto her books tighter, thinking to herself. A small smile forms on her face as she turns to her new friend.

"Well not you," Isabella responds.

Kea walks over to Isabella, a look of confusion forming on her face, "What are you talking about?" Kea asks.

"You're not going to be juiced, because I'm going to get you out of here."

"Psh yeah right," Kea says turning away from her, "You know how many times I've heard that one before. A premade sim will say that they're going to come for a college townie and they never do."

"But you're not talking to just another premade sim, you're talking to me!" Isabella exclaims turning towards her friend, "Come on Kea, you were nice enough to help me, so why don't I help you?" Isabella asks, now only a few meters away from the art building.

Kea looks at Isabella, trying to find some sign of deception in her face, but finds none. "Well…" Kea starts.

"Kea, I promise you that when I graduate, you're coming with me," Isabella says holding out her hand, "Okay?"

Kea sighs and looks down at Isabella's hand. Kea lifts up her right hand in hesitation before placing it in Isabella's. They shake hands.

"Okay," she replies, _"After all, what do I have left to lose…?"_


	4. Freshman Year: Nighttime Aftermath

_Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt_

_Chapter Three_

_Freshman Year: Nighttime Aftermath_

Ripp is sitting at his computer working on his first term paper. Outside, the sun is setting, giving very little light to the already dark room. Ripp gives a sigh of relief, patting himself on the back for finishing the first paragraph; his pocket begins to vibrate.

"That's funny," Ripp says to no one in particular, "Who would be calling me this late at night?"

Ripp pulls his cell phone out of his pocket and flips it open, putting it up to his ear. "Hello?" he uneasily answers.

"Hey Ripp!" the sound of Ophelia's cheery voice erupts from the speaker, "It's Ophelia, didn't you recognize me? Or are you too much of a college big-shot now to talk to me?"

Ripp smiles and manages to laugh a little into the receiver, "Sorry Ophelia, I just wasn't expecting to hear from you this late at night. So, what's new?"

"What's new?" Ophelia repeats, "I'll tell you what's new! School is boring without you! Our class is so small, it's just me and Johnny now."

"What?" Ripp struggles to say before letting his mind wander, "_What does she mean it's only her and Johnny? What happened to everyone else? I know Tank and I are gone but what about Brent? What about Isabella…?" _Ripp accidentally loses his grip on the phone, letting it fall to the floor at the thought of her name.

"Ripp?" Ophelia calls out from the carpet, "Are you still there?"

Ripp quickly snaps out of his thoughts and grabs the phone from the floor, "Yeah," Ripp quickly responds, "Yeah, I'm still here. I was just wondering…what happened to everyone?"

"Hmm," Ophelia says before answering, "Well, I know Brent went to college, and obviously you and Tank went to college…"

"Yeah, I know that," Ripp interrupts, "I-I was just wondering-you know-what happened to-?"

"Isabella?" Ophelia completes for him, she sighs, "I don't know what happened to Isabella. All I know is that she's gone."

Ripp sits there with the phone up to his ear, unable to speak. After a few moments of silence, Ripp manages to speak up, "Oh, well, I guess I'll talk to you later."

"Ripp," Ophelia says, uncertainty in her voice, "Are you-?"

"Bye Ophelia," Ripp quickly states before hanging up. He tosses his phone on his bed and sits in his desk chair in silence, trying to count all the disappointments in his life.

This would take a while.

_Meanwhile: In the Lounge_

Isabella enters through Cassandra's dorm with Kea following close behind her. Isabella walks over to the couch in the lounge and puts her backpack down on it, she turns to Kea. "Come on," Isabella states, "There's somebody I want you to meet."

"Okay," Kea responds, looking for a place to put down her stuff, "Umm, what should I do with my coat?"

Isabella scans the lounge looking for a coat rack, finding none, she turns back to her friend, "Here, I'll put it in my room." Kea gives her coat to Isabella, Isabella heads toward her room, "I'll be right back!" she states.

Isabella walks down the hallway, passing by the pictures on her various neighbors' doors. Her eyes land on a picture placed on the door next to hers. She stops to stare at the photo more closely. _"If I'd have known better, I'd swear that person almost looks like an older version of Ripp." _Isabella quickly shakes her head, dismissing the thought from her mind, _"I must be going crazy," _she says to herself before opening the door to her room and putting Kea's coat inside.

Isabella is preparing to lock her door when she hears chanting, _"Fight, fight, fight!"_

"What the heck is that?" Isabella asks aloud, racing down the hall to the source of the noise. She runs into Kea on her way to the lounge. "Kea, what's happening?" she asks.

Kea shrugs, "There's some guy with blonde hair fighting a guy with face paint in the front room."

"Brent…" Isabella speaks under her breath, "Hang on, I'll handle this."

Isabella heads over to the front room but stops herself at the entry way, "Wait a minute," Isabella says contemplating what Kea just said, "Did you say he was fighting a guy with face paint on?"

"Yes," Kea answers, unaware of where this was going.

"There's only one person I know that wears face paint," Isabella says, running towards the lounge. Sure enough, she finds her brother Brent fighting with Tank in the middle of the room. She walks over to them and grabs Brent by the shoulders, trying to pull him away from Tank.

"Alright Brent, come on, break it up!" Isabella shouts over them, Brent reluctantly obeys.

"Fine," he says, getting up from off of the floor, "But he started it!"

"I did not!" Tank speaks up, glaring at Brent, "You were the one who made fun of my face camo!"

"Never mind that," Isabella interrupts, "Tank, what are you doing here?"

Tank turns to face Isabella, somewhat startled by her question, "What do you mean by that? I'm in college now, I live here."

"You do?" Isabella asks, Tank nods, "Since when?"

"Since yesterday," Tank responds, "My dad dropped me off with-"

Brent tackles Tank back on the ground, causing them to fight again. Isabella groans, _"Please tell me it's not going to be like this every day," _she says to herself.

_Three Hours Later_

Isabella is sitting at her desk looking through her finished term paper. _"Well, this is pretty good for a rough draft. I should probably print it out now." _

Isabella looks over at her printer, finding the paper tray empty. She goes over to her desk drawers and begins to search through them. Finding them empty, she stops in the center of her room; her hand to her forehead in disbelief, _"Oh you have got to be kidding me."_

She heads out of her dorm room door and heads toward her brother's room. She stops, _"Crap, I just remembered. Brent has class right now,"_ Isabella thinks, _"Now what am I supposed to do?"_

Isabella gazes over at the door between hers and Brent's, "Well, I guess it couldn't hurt to ask…"

_Meanwhile: In His Dorm Room_

Ripp is lying down on his stomach on his bed, tracing the pattern of the teal blue carpet with his finger. _"What's the point of trying? Everyone who ever believed in me is gone: Izzy, Ophelia, my mother. I might as well just become what everyone else thinks I am, I might as well become a failure. That's the only thing I'll ever be good at."_

_Knock-knock!_

Ripp groans at the sound of his door, lifting himself out of his comfortable position on his bed. "Tank, I already told you," Ripp says angrily storming towards the door, "You can't borrow my-"

Ripp opens the door, unable to complete his sentence. Standing right in front of him is the red-haired, gray eyed girl that he fell in love with early that year. Sure, she looked a little different, she was a lot taller and more filled out-but it was definitely her, Ripp was sure of it. He blinks his eyes several times, trying to see if the sight before him is actually real.

Guess what? It was.

"Isabella?" Ripp asks, daring enough to speak the first words in months.

Isabella struggles to open her mouth, having a hard time looking him directly in the face. He finally catches her eyes with his own, hoping that Isabella would speak, so he could hear her voice again. _"Her beautiful voice," _he thought.

"Ripp?" Isabella says, her emphasis on his name making it sound more like a statement than a question.

"_Come on Ripp, say something-say anything!"_ Ripp screams internally, _"Tell her that you love her; that you never got over her, that you can't live without her! Tell her how you feel about her, how she's the most beautiful girl that you've ever seen and you haven't stopped thinking about her since you were separated."_

Ripp begins to shuffle his feet, "Uh, hi."

Isabella glances at Ripp, who is now staring directly at the floor; her eyes linger to the carpet as well. "Hi," she softly responds, "I-I have to go."

Isabella quickly turns around and walks back to her room. The sound of the door shutting behind her drowned out by the sound of her heart racing. She leans up against her door and slides her back down it until she reaches the floor. She buries her head in her hands, unable to speak.

Next door, Ripp is back inside of his room contemplating what just occurred minutes ago, _"Isabella's here? Why didn't I notice this sooner? Did she know I was right next door this whole time? Nah, she couldn't have, she looked just as surprised as I was. Was it good that she was surprised? Does she still love me? Gosh, why is everything so confusing here?" _Ripp asks himself, pounding on the left side of his desk. He stops, looking down at the flyer right above his fist. The flyer reads, "Welcome to Sim State."


	5. The Many Denials of Isabella eXtreme

_Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt_

_Chapter Four_

_Freshman Year: The Many Denials of Isabella eXtreme_

Isabella is in Brent's room pacing back in forth on the mocha colored carpet. Brent is seen sitting on his bed trying to finish his math homework, Isabella stops pacing and turns to him.

"This can't be happening," Isabella says to her brother, "There is no way that this is possibly happening."

Brent looks up from his math homework and turns to Isabella irritated, "If I say that there is a way, will you leave me alone and stop bothering me?"

Isabella crouches down in front of the bed and glares up at her brother, "You know, you're not helping."

"I know," Brent answers, a smile forming on his face. He puts down his pencil when Isabella stands up and begins pacing around the room again. Brent sighs, "Why is this such a big deal anyway?"

Isabella stops pacing and leans up against the windowsill, looking out at the sky as she speaks, "Because."

"Because why?"

"Because what if Ripp and I are meant to be together?" Isabella blurts out, turning her back on the cool breeze coming from the window behind her.

"Then you'll be together," Brent states, not taking his eyes off of his math homework.

Isabella leans up against the windowsill and turns to her brother, "But what if we're not?" Isabella sighs before continuing, "I mean, how many sims do you know that keep their same boyfriend or girlfriend when they go to college?"

"Not many."

"Exactly!" Isabella outbursts, she gets up from off of the windowsill and walks closer to her brother, stopping before she reaches the bed, "So I should just forget about him right?"

"Right," Brent says, keeping his eyes on his math book.

Isabella stands up and throws her hands up in the air in frustration, "Brent!" she calls out, "You're not even paying attention!"

Brent groans, turning his eyes away from his homework for a second, "Well, what do you expect? Geez, you really need to get yourself some girlfriends and quick."

Isabella sighs and blops herself down on his bed. She looks down at the floor and sighs again. Brent turns to her, "Look, do you want me to give you some advice?"

Isabella turns around on the bed and looks at her brother, "Of course," she responds.

"Well, if you're so confused about what to do, then you just need to ask yourself some questions."

Intrigued, Isabella turns closer to him, "What kinds of questions?" she asks.

_Meanwhile: Walking in Cassandra's dorm_

Ripp, home from class early, enters through the double doors of the dormitory, heading straight for his bedroom. _"Well finally something is going my way,"_ he thinks to himself, before getting out his keys, he stops when he hears his named mentioned next door.

"Well," someone that sounds like Brent says, "Most importantly, do you still like Ripp?"

Ripp quickly goes inside of his room dropping his backpack on the floor; he pushes his ear up against his right wall waiting for a response.

"Yeah, of course I like him," a voice that sounds like Isabella responds.

Ripp pulls his ear away from the wall for a moment to let it sink in, _"Isabella still likes me?"_ Ripp says quietly to himself, _"But that doesn't explain why-"_

Ripp's own thoughts are interrupted by the sound of Brent's voice, "Do you love him?"

Ripp's heart starts to rapidly beat in his chest; he can hear every beat pounding against him, as he awaits one of the most important answers of his life. _"Please say yes, please say yes,"_ Ripp says to himself, pressing his ear even harder into the wall.

Shuffling is heard in the room, followed by the words, "I have to go," by Isabella. Ripp hears her footsteps leave the room; he sighs. _"I knew it was too good to be true."_

_Meanwhile: One Room Down_

"I have to go," Isabella states quickly before turning around and bolting out of the white room.

"Izzy!" Brent sighs and closes his books. "Unbelievable," he grumbles to himself before running after his sister. He manages to corner her in between the three luminous vending machines and her dorm room.

"Isabella, you didn't answer my question," Brent says, trying to catch his breath, "Now, do you love Ripp or not?"

Inside of his room, Ripp has his ear pressed up against his door; he awaits in anticipation for her answer.

Outside of the room, Isabella looks straight at her brother, unaware of Ripp's presence only a few feet away in his room, "I doesn't matter if I do or not. It's not my choice," Isabella sighs, "Dad told me to explore my options-dad doesn't like him Brent."

Ripp hears sniffles from outside of his door, _"Is Isabella crying?"_ Ripp asks to himself, _"There's no way she can possibly be crying over this."_

Outside Isabella is crying, her head pointed towards the floor trying to conceal her tears with her hands. Brent sighs trying to hold her up by her shoulders with his hands. "Isabella, listen to me," Brent speaks, trying to console his little sister, "It doesn't matter what dad wants, this isn't his life-it's yours," Brent stops for a moment allowing Isabella to look up at him; she sniffles, "And if you're in love with Ripp, then don't just sit there and do nothing about it! You have to tell him!"

"I can't!" Isabella exclaims, releasing her brothers grip on her shoulders; she walks to the other side of the vending machines and looks down at the black and white tiles in the hallway.

Brent approaches her, "Why not?"

"I just can't," Isabella says, her face fixated on the tiles beneath her, "It's not going to work, there's no way it would work!"

"What wouldn't work?" Brent asks, somewhat confused by her sudden outburst.

"Our relationship!" Isabella says, turning towards him, "We're Romance Sims Brent! Romance Sims don't fall in love for real, they're never satisfied with just one person, they can't commit-and I'm one of them!

Brent walks over to his sister and puts his hand on her shoulder; she looks up at him, "Since when does an aspiration define who you are?" he asks.

Isabella sighs and continues to look at the floor, "Isabella listen to me," Brent speaks, "You can go through your whole life doing exactly what others want you to do, walking on that boring monotonous road to nowhere, or you can step off that road, make your own decisions and live."

Brent and Isabella stare intently at each other for a few moments before Brent takes his hand off of her shoulder and heads back to his room.

"Just think about it Isabella," he calls back, "That's all I'm asking you."

Isabella stands there in silence between the kitchen and the hallway, the sounds of the three vending machines failing to drown out her thoughts. Isabella sighs before walking over to her dorm room, she reaches for the doorknob, but retreats gazing at the room next to her. _"I can't believe I'm doing this,"_ she thinks as she takes a few steps to the right, finding herself face-to-face with Ripp's door.

Ripp could hear someone softly breathing outside his door, but he wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not. _"It's either Isabella or someone trying to play a prank on me,"_ Ripp thinks to himself, his ear still up against the back of his door, _"Gosh, I hope it's the first one."_

"Izzy?" Ripp says, gently opening the door, but to his disappointment, the hall was empty. She was gone.

Ripp shuts the door and leans up against the back of it, trying to gather his thoughts, _"So she still loves me but she doesn't want to be with me?" _Ripp thinks, looking up at his ceiling light; he sighs, _"Or does she not love me and still wants to be with me? I'm so confused. I guess I have no choice, I have to talk to Isabella…tonight."_


	6. Freshman Year: Contemplations

_Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt_

_Chapter Five_

_Freshman Year: Contemplations_

The next morning Ripp wakes up on his stomach, he lifts up his head from the pile of blankets below him, only to find himself lying backwards on his bed. He groans before getting up from off of the bed, clenching his stomach in pain, _"Oh man, I'm so hungry," _Ripp thinks to himself; heading toward the door of his dorm room, _"I should head to the kitchen before they stop serving pancakes." _

Ripp opens the door, only to be blocked by a bunch of smiling faces; one belonging to a guy dressed in a giant llama costume and the other belonging to a blonde haired cheerleader, "Greetings fellow llama!" the llama mascot speaks.

"Whoa!" Ripp reacts, stepping back in shock, "Who the heck are you?"

The llama mascot holds out his arms in defense, shaking them furiously, "Now, now, no need to be alarmed, we're your cheerleaders. Well, okay maybe not _your_ cheerleaders specifically, but we're the cheerleaders for this dorm! Here to spread school spirit wherever we go! I'm Nolan and this is Diane," the llama mascot says, pointing to the girl dressed in a white and blue cheerleading outfit next to him, "And you are…?"

"Ripp," Ripp answers, "I'm Ripp Grunt."

"Grunt huh?" the llama mascot asks, "You wouldn't happen to be related to the guy two doors down that threw a pie in my face when I knocked on his door, would you?"

Ripp groans, _"Really Tank, really? Where did you even get a pie?"_ he mentally asks his brother. "Uh, let's just say we go way back."

"Well, I see nothing wrong with you," the llama mascot says, "Anyway, we're having this big dance here tonight. You should come because there's going to be free food. It'll be fun, right Diane?"

Diane nods, smiling and hands Ripp a flyer for the dance. Ripp looks down at it and nods, "Okay, sounds good," he says to them.

"Sweet!" Nolan says, giving Diane a high-five, "We got him and the red haired girl next door! This party's going to be AWESOME!"

The two of them then race up the stairs, leaving Ripp once again alone in the doorway, "Red haired girl?" Ripp questions aloud.

_Meanwhile: In the Kitchen_

Isabella and Kea are sitting at one of the white and black checked tables in the cafeteria, finishing up their lunches. Kea crams the rest of her macaroni into her mouth and turns to Isabella. "So I was thinking, maybe you could help me finish my biology project. I need to get a few more culture samples from sinks around campus and my RA wouldn't let me take one from our dorm's bathroom sink."

"Sure, that sounds like fun," Isabella agrees, accidentally knocking her lunch plate on the floor. She looks at the broken pieces on the ground and laughs nervously, "Oops, my bad."

Kea laughs, "It's okay, those things are pretty old anyway."

Isabella smiles, crouching down to pick up the plate pieces from the floor, "So Kea, how many years have you gone to school here?" she asks.

"This is actually my first year," Kea answers, "But I got a whole lot of years ahead of me if I don't pass-"

"Hey Izzy!" a voice calls from the doorway. In a few moments Brent is standing over his sister, looking down at the broken pieces on the floor, "Uhh…?"

"You don't wanna know," Isabella responds, throwing the rest of the pieces into the trash. She dusts off her hands before joining Kea and her brother back at the table. "Oh sorry, I forgot to introduce you. Kea, this is my older brother Brent."

"Hi Brent," Kea says, waving her right hand in greeting, Brent waves back.

Brent turns to his sister, holding up a flyer, "Hey Izzy, did you get one of these?"

Isabella nods, "Yeah, some guy dressed in a llama costume came by my room this morning and gave me one. Apparently there's supposed to be some sort of dance tonight, you going?"

"I guess," Brent replies, "Who knows, maybe they'll be some girls there that I can flirt with." Isabella rolls her eyes. "Hey, I'm a Romance sim!" Brent defends.

"I know, I know," Isabella says, struggling to hold back a smile, "Believe me, you don't have to tell me twice." Brent laughs.

"Well, I hate to say it, but I actually have to go," Kea says, standing up from the table and grabbing her sky blue coat from the back of her chair, "Let me know how things work out with this 'Ripp' Isabella, I'll see you tomorrow."

Brent turns to Isabella, quickly flashing her a knowing look, causing Isabella to blush in embarrassment, "What? You told me to get girlfriends."

Brent laughs, "I knew it," he says, watching Kea exit the doorway, nearly bumping into Tank who is walking through.

"I have to go," Isabella says placing the rest of her unbroken dishes onto the kitchen counter, before exiting the kitchen. At that very moment Ripp walks into the kitchen.

"Hey Ripp," Brent greets, causing Ripp to stop in his tracks and walk over to him.

"Hey Brent, haven't seen you in a while," he responds.

"Oh I've been around," Brent says, turning towards him; a mischievous look forming on his face, "Hey, you're going to the dance tonight right?"

Ripp begins to shuffle his feet uncomfortably, "Uh, I don't know, I was thinking about it."

"Well I think you should," Brent says, stepping away from the table, "I think you'd really like it," Brent turns toward the door, "Well, I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see you," Ripp answers uneasy.

Outside of the room, Brent is smirking to himself, _"Well this is going to interesting."_

_Later in the Afternoon_

Tank is standing in front of Isabella's dorm room, knocking on the door. "Hey Isabella!" Tank calls out, "Isabella, are you in there?"

Shuffling is heard from inside the room, "Just a minute!" a voice sounding like Isabella's shouts from the enclosed space. She opens the door, somewhat surprised at finding Tank there in front of her. "Hey Tank, what's up?" she asks.

"Oh nothing," Tank responds, looking down nervously at his feet, "Actually it's not nothing or else I wouldn't be standing here in front of you, not saying that standing in front of you isn't fun cause it is but it's not as fun as like you know, going on a rollercoaster, but I don't really like rollercoasters but if you do that's cool but-," Tank stops talking after seeing the look of confusion on Isabella's face, "Uh, anyway, I was just wondering if you wanted to go to this dance with me," Tank asks, pointing at the flyer in his hand.

Isabella steps back, not expecting this at all, _"Crap, what am I supposed to do? I mean, Tank's nice and all, but I really like Ripp. Am I technically still dating him or not? Now Isabella, Ripp never did come for you, so we're not together anymore right? Oh man, maybe I shouldn't. I don't want to hurt Ripp's feelings and I'm not sure if I really like Tank like that. But remember what dad told you, it's time to start exploring your options, but is dating someone from the exact same gene pool really count as 'exploring'? Quick Isabella, Tank's waiting, say something before he thinks you forgot how to talk." _Isabella quickly opens her mouth, "Sure-_aww crap! Why did I just say that?_"

"Great," Tank replies, before turning towards his room, "Well, I'll see you tonight." Tank then exits the hallway, as Brent rounds the corner. He steps over to Isabella, his arms crossed.

"What the heck did you do?" Brent exclaims.

"I'm sorry! It's just-he asked me and you know, I have to explore my options," Isabella frantically responds, trying to dodge a glare from Brent, "It was an impulse!"

"Right, an impulse," Brent repeats, "So, what are you going to do when Ripp finds out?"

"He's not going to find out!" Isabella calls out, "Besides, it's not like he's my boyfriend anymore. I mean, we broke up, I can go to a dance with whoever I want."

"Are you telling me that as a fact? Or are you trying to convince yourself that?" Brent asks, causing Isabella to look down at the floor in shame, "Hey, don't sweat it. I'm supposed to give you a hard time, it's what big brothers do."

Isabella looks up from the floor and to her brother, "Thanks Brent," she responds before exiting into her dorm room, leaving Brent alone in the hallway.

A smile forms on Brent's face, "It's also a big brother's job to interfere in your life..._whether you like it or not,"_ Brent adds to himself, gazing up at Ripp's door.

_Meanwhile: In His Room_

Ripp is sitting at his desk finishing the rest of his English homework when he hears a knock at the door. _"Huh, I wonder who that could be?"_ Ripp thinks to himself. He goes to the door and opens it up, only to find Brent smiling in front of him.

"Brent?" Ripp states to the blonde haired, blue-eyed young adult.

"Hey Ripp," Brent says, not moving a muscle of his body, "Did you hear the news? My sister wants you back, but she's too stubborn to admit it. But don't worry; I'm going to help you get her back. So, here's the plan…"


	7. Freshman Year: Dance Dilemmas

_Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt_

_Chapter Six_

_Freshman Year: Dance Dilemmas_

The sun is starting to set as Tank finishes up the last three questions in his history book. He stops writing and glances up at the flickering light three feet above him. "Man, I really need to fill out a repair slip before my entire room starts falling apart," he says to the disappearing silence.

"Tank!" Ripp calls out from the hallway.

Tank groans, "Not now Ripp, I'm busy!" he shouts back.

To his surprise, Ripp bursts through his bedroom door, a glare plastered across his face. Ripp turns to his brother furious, "Tank! Why are you taking Isabella to the dance?"

"Whoa, it took you four hours to figure out that one?" Tank responds, "Way to go genius," Tank adds sarcastically.

"Why Tank? Why would you do this to me?" Ripp replies, his arms out in frustration.

"Does it bother you?" Tank asks, not even bothering to look up from his textbook.

"Yes," Ripp responds, "You know it does!"

Tank smirks, "Then I think you just answered your own question there," Tank sighs, pointing towards the door, "Now get out of my way, you're ruining my light."

Ripp steps closer to Tank and crouches down to his seated level; his voice stern, "I'll get out of your way once you break off your date with _my_ girlfriend!"

"Your girlfriend?" Tank repeats, now staring directly at his brother, "Funny, that's not what Isabella said."

Ripp gets up from the ground and leans back towards the wall, "What did she say?" he asks, intrigued.

"She said to get out of Tank's light before I punch you in the face," Tank growls.

Ripp gives Tank a strange look, before rubbing the back of his head puzzled, "Really? Huh, that doesn't sound like something she'd say."

Tank walks over to Ripp and turns him around, pushing him out the door, "I think you need to go," Tank says, guiding him into the hallway. "Goodbye idiot brother!"

Ripp turns around; "But Tank-" Tank slams the door in his face, causing Ripp to groan. "Now, how could I possibly not like him?" Ripp says to himself.

_Meanwhile: In the Upstairs Lounge_

Isabella enters the lounge wearing a mid length pink dress and mismatched earrings. She walks over to Brent who is playing the drums with a brunette girl wearing a purple dress dancing in front of him.

"Hey Brent," Isabella says, "Have you seen my other earring?"

Brent turns to her, pointing to his left ear, "What?" he responds.

"I said-have you seen my other earring?" Isabella states a little louder.

Brent continues to play the drums, before turning to his little sister, "I can't hear you!" he shouts.

"HAVE YOU SEEN MY OTHER PINK EARRING?" Isabella screams over the drum beats.

"NO ISABELLA," Brent shouts back, "I DON'T HAVE EARWIGS!"

Isabella sighs heavily before snatching the drumsticks from Brent; ceasing the noise in the room. The girl stops dancing, "Hey!" Brent says, "What'd you do that for?"

"Could you stop playing the drums for five seconds and listen to me?" Isabella states, "I just wanted to know if you've seen my other pink earring. I can't go to the dance like this!" Isabella says, pointing to her mismatched earrings on her left and right ear.

Brent gets up from the drum seat and empties out the money jar in front of him, "Eh, no one will notice and-" Brent stops to look at her, "-what's with the dress?" he completes.

"Brent!" Isabella calls out, "The dance is in twenty minutes and you're seriously asking me about the dress?"

"Yes," Brent replies, "I really am."

Isabella looks down at herself, "Well, what's wrong with it?"

"It's too girly," Brent quickly says, trying to dodge the look of offense on his sister's face.

The girl in the purple dress turns to Isabella, "Well I like it," she states, "It's very pink."

Isabella turns to the girl with the brunette bun puzzled, "Uh, thanks," she leans toward Brent, lowering her voice, "What's her name again?"

"Oh, I'm Breanna!" the girl says, springing up between Brent and Isabella, startling them both. Breanna smiles and turns to Isabella, "Your brother is SO cute," she adds.

Isabella steps back disturbed, "Umm, okay."

"Breanna lives here," Brent continues, "She likes me," he quietly adds to his sister.

Isabella smirks, crossing her arms, "Well I guess someone has to."

Brent scowls and turns to Isabella, "Look, can you leave? I have a lot more practice left to do."

"Fine, see you," Isabella says, exiting the lounge and heading down the stairs. Brent waits until he hears Isabella shut her bedroom door before taking out a walkie talkie.

"The subject has left the area," Brent says into it, "Let operation sabotage begin."

Ripp sighs, coming up from his hiding place behind the couch, "Brent," he says, walking towards him while taking out his walkie talkie and holding it up to Brent's face, "Do we really have to use these?"

"Hey, do you want my sister back or not?" Ripp sighs, his gaze drifting to the floor, "That's what I thought," Brent continues, "Now, let's go over the plan one more time…"

_Twenty Minutes Later_

Ripp and Brent are standing near the entrance of the kitchen, hiding behind the staircase wall. Brent is wearing a black tuxedo, while Ripp is wearing his regular clothes, a tan and brown vertical striped button down shirt with brown slacks. Brent looks down at him, "You know, you could've dressed up for this."

"And risk looking like an idiot?" Ripp responds, causing Brent to nod in agreement.

"Good point," Brent answers, "So, any sign of your brother?"

Ripp looks around, struggling to glance around the corner at the couples dancing in the lounge, "No," he reluctantly replies, "I haven't seen him or Isabella anywhere."

"Don't worry about Isabella," Brent responds, "Trust me, knowing my sister, she probably hasn't even left her room yet." Brent takes out a pair of binoculars and starts to gaze around the kitchen; he stops at the buffet table, "Hey look! They're serving baked Alaska! Ooh, is that chocolate cake?"

Ripp glances at the dancing couples in the lounge next to him, he sighs, "Brent?"

"Yeah?" Brent responds, not taking his eyes off of the food at the buffet table.

"Why are you helping me?" Ripp asks.

"Oh it's simple," Brent replies, putting down the binoculars and turning to Ripp, "I hate your brother. He's a jerk."

Ripp smiles, "I couldn't have said it better myself."

All of a sudden the spot behind the staircase begins to darken, as a shadow comes up from behind Brent and Ripp. They turn around in panic, only to find Kea behind them licking the cream off of a chocolate sandwich cookie, "Hey guys!" she responds, looking down at the binoculars in Brent's hands, "You know, if you're looking for face paint boy, he's talking to that giant llama mascot near the vending machines over there," she says, pointing down the hallway at Tank.

Brent sits up and turns to her, "Thanks Kea," he responds, "Hey, what are you doing here?"

Kea smiles, "Isabella called me a few minutes ago," she replies, "She said something about an earring emergency," she lowers her voice, "I just told her not to wear any," Kea turns to Brent, gazing behind him, "So, who's your friend?"

"Oh, this is Ripp," Brent responds, pushing Ripp in front of him, "I'm trying to help him get back together with my sister," Brent nods his head from side to side, "It's a shame, she never did get over him."

Kea turns to Ripp, "So you're Ripp," she says shaking his hand, "Funny, I always pictured you taller. Anyway, this is your lucky day. Since Kea Kalson has nothing else to do for the rest of the day, I'm going to help you get my friend back," Kea turns to Brent, "So, what's the plan?"

"Keep Isabella and Tank apart at all costs," Brent says, leading the other two into a huddle, "Kea, are you good at distractions?"

Kea thinks for a second, "That depends," she replies, "What kind of distractions are we talking about here?"

_Fifteen Seconds Later_

Kea is seen dragging Isabella out of her room and up the stairs. "And after I saw this singing llama on the roof, I knew I just had to show you. I mean, as soon as I saw it I was thinking 'Man, Isabella would absolutely love to see this!' And that's what friends are for right?"

"Uhh, Kea?" Isabella says, "Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

Kea stops dragging Isabella and clenches her by the shoulders, her smile about a mile wide, "Another great question, we'll never know now will we?"

Isabella backs away from Kea terrified, "Umm, yeah, I'm just going to go to the dance now-"

"NO!" Kea abruptly shouts, "I mean-I haven't shown you the singing llama yet!"

Isabella steps back, only to have her arm grabbed by Kea smiling manically, "I'm scared," she responds.

"Now, that's the spirit!" Kea states, in front of steps leading to the roof, "Come on bestie!"

_Meanwhile: Outside the Cafeteria_

Ripp is standing behind the staircase, wearing a pink dress, orange wig and makeup, he turns to Brent, "There is no way I am doing this," he responds.

"Hey, you were the one that didn't want to dress in a tux, so here you go!" Brent replies.

Ripp turns to Brent, a glare plastered on his face, "There is no way that Tank is going to think that I'm Isabella."

"Maybe not in the light, but hey, if it's dark enough, he'll never know the difference," Brent reasons.

"And tell me again why you couldn't do this?" Ripp asks, turning towards his neighbor.

"Because, I couldn't risk the chance of Tank trying to make moves on me," Brent answers.

"Wait, WHAT?" Ripp outbursts, as Brent pushes him into the cafeteria.

"Good luck dork!" Brent responds from behind the staircase.

Ripp is standing in the darken cafeteria scanning the room for his brother, _"Okay Ripp don't panic,"_ he says to himself, _"Maybe he'll actually fall for it and he won't notice that you're dressed like a chick. Man, the things I do for love."_

Ripp spots Tank near the punchbowl and sighs, "Well, here goes nothing."


	8. Freshman Year: Ripp the Chick

_Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt_

_Chapter Seven_

_Freshman Year: Ripp the Chick_

_Meanwhile: On the Rooftop of Cassandra's Dorm_

Kea and Isabella are standing on the roof of the dormitory, looking out at the ground below, "…and that's the entire history of Cheddar cheese," Kea completes turning toward her friend who is standing on the edge of the roof, "If you want Munster you're going to have to pay extra."

"So, let me get this straight," Isabella states; staring Kea in the eyes, "You took me up here, to tell me the entire history of Cheddar cheese?"

Kea turns away from Isabella, snapping her fingers in frustration, "Darn it, I knew I should've picked Mozzarella," Kea turns back only to find herself face to face with a glaring Isabella, "I mean, nothing. I didn't come here to tell you that, I uhh, I actually came here to…shout at my grandma!"

Kea races to the edge of the roof and calls out into the distance, "HEY GRANDMA!" she shouts, "I'LL VISIT YOU MONDAY!" Kea turns to Isabella giving her a thumbs-up, Isabella groans.

"That's it," she states heading toward the stairs, "I'm out of here."

Kea begins to panic as she watches Isabella head off the roof, _"Crap, what do I do?" _Kea scans the area before turning to Isabella, she sighs, "Uh wait Isabella, don't go."

Isabella stops walking down the stairs and turns to Kea, "Why not?" she asks.

"_You owe me big time boy,"_ Kea thinks to herself before turning to her friend, "Because," she reluctantly states, "I'm in love with your brother."

_Meanwhile: In the Cafeteria_

Ripp is walking toward his brother, trying to keep himself from passing out, _"Calm down Ripp,"_ he says to himself, _"You can do this. Just put on your best phony girl voice and tell Tank that you don't like him. Yeah, dump him good. Who cares if you're not really Isabella? Let's just hope that Tank didn't put on his contacts today." _

Ripp walks up behind his brother and taps him on his shoulder; Tank turns around, "Hey Tank," Ripp says.

Tank turns around and faces him, "Hey Isabella," he says, "Sorry, I didn't notice you. I'm not wearing my contacts."

"Score!" Ripp exclaims; Tank gives him a look of concern, "I-I mean, nothing…uh, hot face," Ripp says, struggling to smile, _"Hot face? Isabella would never say that! Way to go genius!" _he mentally kicks himself.

"Uh yeah," Tank says, stepping away from Ripp, "Isabella, are you feeling okay?"

"Yes," Ripp quickly responds, "I mean, no. The truth is I'm in love with your brother. Your hot sexy brother," Ripp's voice cracks, "He's a hunk," he struggles to complete, "Whoa, is it hot in here or what?"

Ripp begins to glance around the cafeteria in search of something to cool himself off, he eyes the punch bowl. "Umm, excuse me for a second," he says to Tank before dashing towards the table. He picks up the punch bowl and dumps it on his face, he sighs, "Oh yeah, that's good stuff."

Ripp turns around, finding Tank behind him with a strange look on his face. "What the matter Tank?" Ripp asks, "Are you turned off by this disgusting display?" Tank continues to give Ripp a glare, he crosses his arms in front of him, "Because, if you're not you should be," Ripp says, backing away from the table, "I'm disgusting. I don't deserve you, I would be much better off with-"

"My brother?" Tank completes, "Well why don't we just ask him right now!" he exclaims, ripping the orange wig off of Ripp's head, he tosses it to the floor, "How stupid do you think I am?"

Ripp backs into the wall, laughing nervously, "Well, I was hoping very."

"If you didn't want me to date her, you could've just told me," Tank explains, "You didn't have to dress up like Isabella and pretend to break up with me!"

"I did tell you!" Ripp replies, "And I didn't break up with you…yet," he finishes under his breath. "So uh, I should probably run now right?" Ripp asks.

Tank cracks his fists angrily, stepping toward him, "Oh yeah," he says, causing Ripp to dash out of the room with Tank following right behind him.

_Meanwhile: On the Rooftop of Cassandra's Dorm_

Isabella stops walking toward the stairs and turns toward Kea in shock, "You're in love with my brother?" she repeats, "My brother? The crazy dude with the blonde hair?"

"Yes," Kea replies, before kneeling down and clenching the bottom of Isabella's dress in plea, "I'm in love with him Isabella!" she says while burying herself into the pink skirt and pretending to break into tears, "I can't stand to live one more second without him! You have to help me win his heart, before he falls in love with that Breanna girl!"

Isabella looks down at Kea confused, "Wait, how do you know about Breanna? You haven't even met her!" she questions.

"Uh, she's in my biology class!" Kea exclaims, before burying herself back into the cloth of Isabella's dress, "Now help me before it's too late!"

Isabella sighs and crouches down to face her friend. She grabs Kea by the arms and lifts her up, before crossing her arms. "Alright," she states, "What's going on?" she asks, eyeing Kea who is shuffling her feet in front of her, "Why don't you want me to go to the dance? Do you not like Tank?"

Kea sighs and looks up at Isabella, "It's not that, it's just...I'm a college townie and don't get a lot of dates and I'm jealous," Kea states, "I want to date Plank!"

Isabella crosses her arms, "Tank," she corrects.

"Same thing," Kea replies, trying to force a smile.

Isabella raises her eyebrow in suspicion, and steps toward Kea, "Now, what's really going on?" she asks.

Kea shifts her eyes from side to side and begins to panic; she extends her arm out and points behind Isabella, "Look a fish!" she exclaims, before taking off down the stairs.

Isabella turns around to face Kea, only to realize that she is gone. "Hey!" Isabella shouts after her, "Wait up! Get back here!"

Kea dashes down the stairs while taking out her walkie talkie. She presses the 'talk' button and begins to speak into the intercom, "Mayday, mayday! The subject is heading down the stairs. I repeat the subject is heading down the stairs!"

Kea races past the bottom of the staircase and nods to Brent, who is still hiding behind it outside of the kitchen, "Hey Brent!" she greets, pointing to Isabella who is racing down the stairs behind her.

Brent grabs Isabella by the shoulder and pulls her back, "Whoa sis," Brent says, "Where do you think you're going?"

"No time to talk," Isabella replies, trying to catch her breath, "I have to speak to Kea!"

Brent starts to rub the back of his head, panicked, "Uhh, about that-" he begins. He is interrupted by a shriek.

"What was that?" Isabella says; she races out the front door to the source of the noise. She stops in her tracks when she gazes up at the sight in front of her. Ripp is dressed exactly like her in a tree, clinging onto its branches, while Tank is standing below him trying to get him down.

"Ripp, for the last time," Tank calls up the tree, "I'm not going to beat you up that bad! I mean, it'll still be ugly, but it won't be hospital ugly!"

"I don't care what you say!" Ripp shouts down, "I'm not coming down until you give me that in writing!"

Isabella walks over to them and turns to look at both of the Grunt brothers, "Can someone please tell me what the heck is going on here?" she asks them.

Tank, upon hearing her voice, turns around and walks over to her, "Izzy, it's you," he states, "I mean, the real you. Thank goodness, I thought you were locked in a closet or something."

"Never mind that," Isabella says, "Please tell me what's going on before I go crazy. Why is everyone acting so strange?"

"Isabella wait!" Brent says, dashing out the door and over to her, "There's a very simple explanation for this. You see-"

"We're drunk," Ripp blurts out, still hanging onto the tree for dear life; he smiles innocently.

Kea walks out of the front door and turns to Brent, "Hey guys, did it work?" she asks, "Did we get rid of the-" Kea stops when she spots Isabella tapping her foot in annoyance three feet away, "The skunk," she nervously completes.

Isabella turns to her brother hurt, "So that's it huh? You guys couldn't even tell me the truth?"

Brent steps toward her, extending an arm out in condolence, "Now Isabella, we were only trying to help you."

"No you weren't!" Isabella exclaims, "You were only trying to get me to hate Tank!" Isabella turns to Kea, "And you! You were trying to keep me from the dance, so he'd think I stood him up!" Kea and Brent begin look down at the ground in shame, "I can't believe you guys would do that to me!"

"Well don't," Ripp speaks suddenly, causing Isabella to turn around and face him, "I told them to do that. It was all my idea. Blame me…for never getting over you."

Isabella sighs, her eyes wandering to the ground beneath her. Her mind begins to full up with thoughts, thoughts of Ripp-her first day in Strangetown spent with Ripp, their first dance, their first kiss, the late nights they spent reminiscing about all the great people that lied in Olive's garden, the look Ripp gave her when he first told her Lyla's story, the last time she ever saw him as a teenager, the last kiss they shared-all these thoughts, drowning her in misery. She feels a tug on her shoulder, snapping her back into reality.

"Come on Izzy," Tank says nudging her towards the door, "Let's go before they do something else stupid."

Isabella feels her legs pushing her forward, but her gaze drifts back to Ripp, who is getting down from the tree, with the help of Brent and Kea. He gives her a sorrowful look, as she exits into the dormitory. She steps into the lounge, her eyes filling up with tears. _"Crap,"_ she thinks to herself, _"I just made the biggest mistake of my life…"_


	9. I'll Always Love You

_Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt_

_Chapter Eight_

_Freshman Year: I'll Always Love You_

Brent and Kea are standing in front of Cassandra's dorm unable to speak. Above them, Ripp is still clinging onto the trunk of the tree, but he can feel his grip slowly weakening. For awhile no one says a word, until finally, Kea walks over to the tree.

"So," she starts, gazing up at Ripp lost between its branches, "Do you want us to help you get down?"

Ripp's eyes fall to the ground, "No," he sighs, "What's the point?"

Kea steps back before exchanging concerned glances with Brent, who is standing next to her. Brent turns to Kea, "Hey, why don't you go inside and check out the buffet table? I think I can handle this by myself."

Kea smiles slightly at Brent and nods, "Alright," she responds, before heading through the front doors and disappearing into the dormitory.

After hearing Kea's departure, Brent walks over to the tree and turns his attention to the unstable young adult clinging onto its trunk. "You can't get me to come down Brent," Ripp says as he approaches, "Nothing you say is going to change my mind. And don't give me the 'you have so much to live for' crap because if you were forced to live my life for two seconds, you would know that's not true."

Brent continues to stare intently at Ripp; he crosses his arms causing Ripp to speak up again, "I mean it Brent," he says, "I'm not coming down, I'm going to stay here forever and there's nothing you can do to stop me. You don't know me; you don't know what crazy stunts I'm capable of."

"You're right," Brent responds, "I don't know you, but I know your brother. I know that you come from a family of stern, heartless lunatics. And I know that you are nothing like them. Now, I admit that I don't know your little brother very well, but you may be the only decent person on that side of town, and if you don't come down, then there won't be anyone with a heart left."

Ripp gives Brent a look of confusion, "Umm, what?" he asks, "Sorry, I kind of lost you at the 'heartless lunatics' part."

Brent sighs heavily and slaps his face in frustration, "Okay, this isn't working," he says quietly to himself, "I'll have to use a different approach."

Brent turns back toward Ripp, "Ripp, I know things look bad, but look at the bright side. I mean, they probably won't get any worse."

Ripp gives Brent a glare, "You won't believe how many times I've heard that one before," he says.

Brent sighs and turns away from Ripp once more, _"Come on Brent think, there's got to be something that'll get him to come down,"_ Brent exhales, "Okay, here goes. One last shot." Brent turns to face the tree, "Ripp," he begins, "You're going to get down from that tree."

"Really?" Ripp states, "And why would I do that?"

Brent smirks, "Because, you're doing exactly what your dad wants you to."

A strange expression forms on Ripp's face, "Huh?" he states.

"Your dad wants you to give up," Brent says, "He wants you to fail, that's why he sent you here, he didn't think you can handle it. And if you never come down, you're only proving him right. But who am I kidding?" Brent asks, "You don't want to get down and ace your classes and get your girlfriend back and change your life. And you certainly don't want to prove to Tank that he can't always get everything he wants. After all, that would only make your mother look good for believing in you and I'm sure she was just a liar when she told you that you are actually worth something."

Brent begins to turn away from the tree and head towards the front door, "Well, I guess I'll just be going now-"

"Darn it Brent!" Ripp calls out, "Why are you eXtremes so good at convincing?" Brent turns around seeing Ripp climbing down the tree; he smiles.

_Meanwhile: In the Lounge_

Isabella is sitting on the couch in the lounge of Cassandra's dormitory with her head in her hands. She sighs as she watches a bunch of happy couples dancing three feet away from her. _"I'm never going to be able to get him out of my mind, am I?" _Isabella asks herself, with only one boy on her mind,_ "I can't believe he dressed up as me just to get me back."_

Isabella sighs as another slow song blares from the speakers. She turns to the window and presses the side of her face against the cool glass in agony. To her surprise, she sees her brother sitting outside on the front porch; her heart skips a beat when she sees Ripp sit down next to Brent and they begin to converse. _"I wonder what they're talking about?" _Isabella asks.

As if on cue, Isabella spots the locks on top of the window, she sighs, _"I know I shouldn't, but what choice do I have?" _And with that, Isabella unlocks the window and opens it up, pressing her right ear against the screen. She shivers as feels the cool air hit against her face and blow into her hair.

_Meanwhile: On the Porch_

Brent is sitting on the front porch of Cassandra's dorm, looking at the park located across the street. Ripp sits down next to him and sighs, "Please tell me this nightmare of an evening is going to be over soon."

Brent smirks and lifts his right arm up to glance at his watch, "Well, you've got about an hour and a half left to go until it's Saturday."

Ripp groans and lies down on the porch, covering his head with his hands, "Better yet, just wake me up when this whole year is over," he states.

After a few moments of listening to only the sounds of the wind knocking trees against the side of the dormitory, Brent speaks up, "Ripp," he says, "Can I ask you something?"

"If it's about where I got the dress, I don't want to hear it," Ripp quickly replies.

Brent softly laughs before shaking his head, "No, it's not that," he responds, "I just wanted to know why you took the blame for me back there. I mean, the whole thing was my idea; you and Kea were just my guinea pigs."

"I don't know," he replies, sitting up and turning to face Brent, "I guess it's cause you'll be Isabella's brother forever, but I'll never be her boyfriend again," Ripp sighs, "I blew it."

Brent looks down at the ground and pats Ripp on the back, "Hey, don't sweat it man," he replies, "There's plenty of girls out there, you'll find someone for you."

Ripp sighs, "I already did," he responds, trying to hold back his frustrations, "And she's in there dancing with my brother." Ripp points toward the living room window behind him, unaware of Isabella's presence only a short distance away and the sad, sympathetic look on her face, "I was so stupid thinking that she would actually take me back. I should've never come here, I should've dashed straight to Veronaville when my dad dropped me off. I had her, and I let her slip through my fingers," Ripp holds out his hand and gently brings his fingers into a fist, "I haven't been this upset since…since…"

_Ripp is racing down the sidewalk towards the front gate of the Specter residence; ambulances blocking his view. He runs over to Olive, who is standing in front of her garden talking to two of the hospital workers._

"_Olive!" Ripp calls out from behind her, "Olive, where's my mother?"_

_Olive stops talking to the workers for a moment and crouches down to child Ripp's level. "I'm sorry Ripp," she says, placing a consoling hand on his shoulder, "But your mother is gone. She died."_

…

_Ripp races towards the garden, going so fast that he can no longer feel his legs. He stops when he notices that the garden is empty. "Isabella?" he calls out into the passing wind, "ISABELLA, WHERE ARE YOU?"_

…

"_But the worst part is, she thought I never came…ame…ame…"_

"Ripp?" Brent speaks, placing a hand on his shoulder; the sudden movement causes Ripp to jerk his head up.

He turns to Brent, "Sorry, I was just thinking," Ripp replies, before sinking his head back into his hands, "Oh gosh, I love her so much! And I'll never be able to stop!"

"Now, Ripp-" Brent begins, only to be interrupted by Ripp bursting into tears. "Oh geez," Brent mumbles to himself while trying to console Ripp, "Man, I should've left him up in that tree."

Meanwhile: In the Living Room

Isabella is watching the whole scene unfold from the living room window. She is about to close it, when she hears someone approach her.

"Well, what's going on here?" Tank asks standing in front of the couch, looking down at the girl that was supposed to be his date.

Isabella quickly turns away from the window, trying to force a smile while ignoring what is going on behind her, "Nothing, it was just getting a little drafty in here, that's all." Isabella turns back towards the window when she sees her brother get up from off of the porch, leaving Ripp alone. Isabella sighs, glancing at Tank, "Uh, I have to go," she states, backing up towards the front door, "I think I left something outside."

Tank watches as Isabella walks out of the dormitory and joins Ripp on the porch. Tank smirks knowingly as he sees Isabella put her arm around his brother, trying to console him.

"_Well what do you know Ripp? I guess I don't get everything I want."_


	10. Freshman Year: Aspiration Failures

_Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt_

_Chapter Nine_

_Freshman Year: Aspiration Failures_

Ripp is sitting on the porch with his head buried in his hands, trying to keep his world from spinning. _"Well that's it," _Ripp thinks to himself, _"I'm done, it's over. I was stupid to think that things would ever change for me. Let's face it, I was born a loser, and I'll die a loser."_

"_Now what kind of talk is that?"_

Ripp lifts his head up and turns to face the source of the voice. To his imagination, he finds the presence of his mother taking the form of a ghost sitting on the porch next to him.

"Mom," Ripp speaks to the imaginary being, "Is that you?"

"_Never mind that," _she echoes in his head,_ "I didn't raise you to be a quitter."_

"Well what am I supposed to do? Everything-everyone I ever cared about is gone!"

"_That shouldn't make you quit Ripp," _her voice rings,_ "If anything, it should make you want to succeed even more!" _

Ripp looks down at the ground and sighs.

"_Ripp listen to me, things may seem bad now, but someday your luck is going to change. Things are going to get better, but you have to work for it and never give up."_

Ripp gazes at the clouded essence next to him, "But mom-"

"_You can do it Ripp, I know you can. I believe in you."_

Ripp watches as his mother disappears right in front of him. Ripp holds out his hand to her, "Mom, don't-!" Ripp frantically moves his hand in the air where she sat; he sighs and hangs his head, finding nothing. "Great," he softly speaks, "Now she's going to be even more disappointed in me."

"Ripp?"

Ripp lifts his head up, instantly recognizing the voice of the person standing behind him, _"No, it can't be." _Ripp turns around, and sure enough, there she was; the last person in the dormitory that Ripp would expect to be standing only a few feet away from him.

"Isabella?" Ripp says, trying his best to keep his emotions from splattering onto the floor.

"Yeah," Isabella awkwardly responds, before taking a seat on the step next to him. Noticing Ripp burying his head back in his hands, she turns to him, "Ripp," she says soothingly, "Are you okay?"

Ripp, now on the verge of tears, turns his head away from Isabella in embarrassment, "Yes," he weakly states.

Isabella places her arm around Ripp and sighs, "No you're not," she says gently.

"So?" Ripp exclaims, turning his head to face Isabella, exposing his tear-stained eyes, "What are you going to do about it, break up with me just like I broke up with Tank?"

"What?" Isabella says to Ripp, which is followed by a look of confusion spread across her face.

Ripp buries his head in his hands again, trying to hide his sobs, "Sorry, I'm not supposed to cry, I'm a dude," Ripp completes weakly, he sniffles, "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I wanted to talk to you," Isabella answers.

"Oh," Ripp states; he sits up a little and wipes the tears off of his eyes, "About cheese?"

Isabella gives a small smile, "No," she says, "About us." She sighs, "Ripp, why did you dress up like me and pretend to break up with your brother?"

"Uh," Ripp begins, doing his best to try to avoid Isabella's gray eyes, "Because I wanted to feel more attractive?"

Isabella smiles slightly and looks off into the distance, "I just don't understand why you would do something like that," she sighs, "I thought you didn't love me anymore."

Ripp, now intrigued, turns to Isabella, "Why would you possibly think that?"

Isabella sighs struggling to look Ripp straight in the eyes, "Because you never came for me."

"Well, like most things in my life, that was my dad's fault…and Tank's," Ripp sighs, seeing the hurt in her eyes, "I tried to come Isabella, I really did, but by the time I got there you were already gone. After all we had been through those months-for it to end like that-I wouldn't have blamed you if you never talked to me again," Ripp turns to Isabella, finally making eye contact with her for the first time that night, "I'm so sorry Isabella, I never meant to hurt you. I love you and I still do, and I probably always will."

Ripp turns away from Isabella, managing to force a small smile, "It's funny. After all those months apart from you-after all that-I never expected to find you here. It's almost as if it was destiny, you know, it's almost as if we were supposed to see each other again. At least, that's what I think it was."

Ripp gets up from off of the step and holds out his hand, "Well, it was great talking to you. If you ever find it in your heart to forgive me and want to talk to me again, you know where to find me."

Isabella walks over to Ripp and glances down at his extended arm; she smiles, "Ripp, you smeared your makeup," she says, reaching up to wipe the mascara off of Ripp's face. She pulls her hand away and smiles, noticing the black smudges on her fingers, "Now, can you please take that disguise off? I don't want to be kissing myself."

Ripp stands there dumbfounded, unsure if he heard her correctly, "Wait, you mean you're taking me back?"

Isabella nods, "I'm not stupid Ripp, there's no way I'm letting you get away from me again. Besides," she continues smiling, "We're in love, it would be a crime not to!"

Ripp's face lights up overjoyed, as he wraps his arms around Isabella and leans in to kiss her. Isabella puts her hand out, stopping him, "Uh, hang on a second." Isabella takes the orange wig off of Ripp's head and tosses it to the floor, she turns to him and smiles, "Okay, we're good."

Ripp kisses Isabella as thunder begins to rumble from the sky, Ripp gazes behind him as a reflection of his mother smiles at him, nodding her head in approval. _"You're halfway there," _the sky whispers into Ripp's left ear. Ripp slowly pulls away from Isabella, "I love you."

Isabella sighs and wraps her arms around Ripp, embracing him before speaking softly, "I love you too."

"I can't live like this anymore Isabella," Ripp says, slowly returning the embrace, "I love you and I want to be with you…just you, even if it means I have to change some things to do so."

Isabella pulls back a little from Ripp so she can look up at him, "Ripp, what are you talking about?"

"Isabella, I've recently obtained a ReNuYuSenso orb. I want you to reprogram me; I want you to make me a Family sim."

Isabella looks up at Ripp shocked, "Ripp are you sure? Those things are risky. What if something goes wrong? What if you become a Grilled Cheese sim?"

"I want to be with you Isabella, and that's a risk I'm willing to take," Ripp says gazing down at her, "So are you with me or not?"

Isabella nods, "Of course."

"Alright, then let's do it," Ripp states, looking up at the crackling sky above them, "Let's change our aspirations!"

_Five Minutes Later_

Ripp and Isabella are standing near the ReNuYuSenso orb at the end of the upstairs hallway of Cassandra's dormitory. Ripp is standing in front of it, while Isabella is punching random numbers into the gray circular object, trying to reprogram the orb.

Isabella turns to Ripp after punching in the final activation numbers, "Ripp, are you sure about this?"

"Yes," Ripp says, "I have been a failure of a Romance Sim for far too long, it's time to be something I'm actually meant to be good at."

Ripp turns to gaze at the center of the orb. He sighs as he prepares to place his head into the green glowing object. "Well, here goes nothing," he turns to Isabella, who grabs onto his arm in comfort, "Wish me luck."

Ripp places his head into the orb and struggles to not lose himself in the constant twists and turns that the machine makes. After a few moments of uncomfortable shifting, Ripp lifts his head out of the orb, using his hands to keep his head from spinning.

Isabella turns to him concerned, "Ripp, are you okay?" she asks, her hand still rested on his arm.

"I-I don't know," Ripp responds, still holding his throbbing head, "But for some reason I have the sudden urge to raise twenty puppies or kittens. Man, I don't know what's wrong with-" Ripp turns to gaze at Isabella, only to find clouds of fantasies of her filling his mind.

_Ripp is seen kneeling in front of Isabella standing in a field of daisies with his hand on his heart, "I love you Isabella," he says, taking out a ring box, "Will you marry me?"_

_He flips the lid of the box causing Isabella to squeal in happiness, "Oh Ripp, of course I will!" _

_He catches her in an embrace as the scene begins to fade. Ripp and Isabella have just said their vows and Ripp is swooping Isabella down for the final kiss…the scene fades once again as Ripp sees himself standing in the middle of the living room of their house._

_A pregnant Isabella is standing in front of the couch clenching her stomach. "Ripp!" she cries out, "I think the baby is coming!"_

_Ripp rushes over to her in time to see Isabella spin around and give birth to their first child. She holds the baby up to her face and smiles, "Isn't the baby so cute Ripp…Ripp…Ripp…?"_

"Ripp?" Isabella calls out once again, frantically waving her hand in front of Ripp's face as he continues staring off into space. "Ripp, are you alright?"

Ripp snaps out of his daydream and turns to face Isabella. Upon seeing her, he grabs her hand and kneels down on the floor. "Marry me Isabella," he states.

Isabella blushes, a little flustered, "Uh, how about we just focus on reprogramming me first?"

_Five Minutes Later_

Ripp and Isabella are lying down on the floor of the upstairs lounge, both struggling to keep their heads from spinning. Ripp sits up, trying to control himself from acting goofy, "Whoa, they never talk about the weird side effects that happen after someone changes their aspiration. This is crazy."

Isabella giggles and struggles to sit up next to Ripp; "You know what else is crazy?" she says, her head spinning, "The wall. It is so purple!"

"Hey yeah, it is!" Ripp exclaims, before they both burst into a serious case of the giggles.

Tank enters the room and looks down at the two of them; he shakes his head, "Oh no, what did you guys do?"

Ripp giggles and slowly stands up from the floor, having a hard time walking in a straight line to his brother, "Hey Tank, guess what we just did?" Ripp says slurring his words.

"As much as I hate to ask, what did you do?" Tank asks.

"We, you know-Isabella and I, we just totally changed our aspirations!" Ripp completes, before collapsing onto the floor and giggling into the carpet once more.

"Oh no," Tank responds, looking down at him, "Please tell me you're not what I am."

"No silly," Isabella speaks up from across the room, "We're not talking vegetables."

Ripp laughs, "I think what she means to say is that we're not Poopularity sims." Ripp completes causing both him and Isabella to erupt into laughter. "We's Family sims."

Tank gazes down at them freaked out, "Umm, okay. I'm just going to leave now as I back away in fear," Tank adds, heading towards the door. He stops before he reaches the exit, "Crazy nuts," he states gazing back at them, watching the two roll around on the floor laughing, "No wonder why they belong together…"


	11. Sophomore Year: She Likes Him Not

_Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt_

_Chapter Ten_

_Sophomore Year: She Likes Him, She Likes Him Not_

Isabella is standing in the center of her dorm room wearing a white paint shirt and rainbow-splotched jeans. In front of her is a painted canvas and to the right of her is where her subject is standing. "Ripp!" she calls out as she reaches to her pallet to reapply more paint on her paintbrush, "Quit moving around so much."

"Sorry," Ripp replies, trying his best to stop himself from swaying, "Is it almost done?"

"Yeah, let me just add one final touch," Isabella adds as she brings her paintbrush back up to the canvas and makes one final stroke. Pleased with her work, she steps back and smiles, "Perfect."

Ripp walks around to take a look at Isabella's painting of him. He smiles as he gazes at it, "Wow, this is amazing! It looks just like me!"

"Thanks," Isabella says, not taking her eyes off of the painting, "I'm pretty good with realism, but just wait until next week when I have to tackle abstract."

Ripp smiles as he steps closer to Isabella, "Oh I'm sure you'll do fine," he responds, leaning closer to her.

"Isabella!" Tank calls out as he kicks down the door with his foot, causing Ripp and Isabella to move apart, "Thank goodness I found you! I need advice," Tank turns to look at his startled younger brother, "Umm, could you like leave?"

"Please tell me that's not the advice," Ripp mumbles to Isabella, who is just as taken off guard as he is.

She turns to Ripp, "This sounds important, maybe you could work on your homework or something?"

"Fine," Ripp says reluctantly as he heads out the doorway towards his dorm room next door, "But if I hear screams I'm coming back here."

Isabella smiles and turns to Tank, still hanging onto her paintbrushes, "So, what's up?"

Tank glances around the room with uncertainty, "Uh, hang on a second," he responds as he walks over to her bedroom door and opens it, causing Ripp to fall from his place behind the door.

"Don't mind me," Ripp says stumbling as he tries to get up off the carpet, "I was just uh-looking for a pin."

Tank glares at him, causing Ripp to sweatdrop, "Ripp?"

"Yeah?" Ripp nervously responds.

"Get out of here."

"Will do," Ripp replies, racing into his room and slamming the door shut once again.

Isabella turns to Tank, trying to cease the awkwardness of the precious situation, "So uh, you were saying?"

Tank sighs and blops down on Isabella's bed, "You know Diane Lam?"

"The cheerleader?" Isabella asks, intrigued.

"Yeah," Tank responds, looking down at his hands, "Well, you see, I uh-I kind of like her and I was thinking of asking her out. Do you think that's a good idea?"

Isabella puts her paintbrushes down on her end table before taking a seat next to Tank on the bed, "Well that depends, have you ever talked to her before?"

"Yes, wait-uh no," Tank replies.

"Well, does she know that you live here?" Isabella asks.

"No," Tank responds.

Isabella deeply exhales and turns to him, "Does she even know you exist?"

Tank sighs and shakes his head no.

"Okay, then maybe you should work on those things first," Isabella says, "If you want a girl to like you, then you have to get to know her. You know, talk to her to see if you have anything in common. The more you have in common, the more chemistry you'll have. Then maybe someday you'll be friends and eventually fall in love."

"Oh no, I can't do that," Tank replies, standing up from his place on the bed and taking a step back towards the doorway his arms extended and shaking, "I'm too shy. I'm socially awkward, I can't talk to girls."

Isabella gets up and walks over to him, "Tank, don't worry you'll do fine," she says opening her door to scan the living room, "Look, there's Diane. Now go and talk to her!"

"I can't! I'm too nervous!" Tank replies trying to resist the push of Isabella's hands on his back.

"Tank, it'll be fine," Isabella says pushing even harder on him, "Now go!"

Isabella manages to successfully push Tank into the living room. She smiles as she watches Tank walk up to Diane, unaware of the person standing right behind her.

"Hey Izzy!" Isabella screams as she turns around, only to find Kea standing right behind her holding a bowl of cereal, "Whatcha watching?"

"Kea!" Isabella calls out to her friend, "Where did you come from? You scared the crap out of me and-" Isabella stops to look at the bowl in Kea's hands, "What are you eating?"

"Sim O's," Kea replies, holding the bowl out to her; "It tastes like gravy-flavored corn flakes. You want some?"

Isabella looks down at the barf-colored contents in the cereal bowl; she turns to Kea disgusted, "Uh, I'll pass thanks."

Kea shrugs, "Oh well, more for me!" Kea sticks her face in the bowl and devours the rest of it. She tosses the bowl over her shoulder when she's done. "Wow," she states, "You really _can_ taste the anchovies."

Isabella continues to stare at Kea in disgust, "Sometimes I wonder why I'm friends with you."

"It's because I'm so adorable," Kea says before letting out a huge burp. She waves her right hand in front of her face trying to air out the smell, "Whoo, that was a good one," she says, "So uh, what exactly are you watching?"

"I'm watching my friend Tank talk to this girl that he likes. You know, Diane Lam the cheerleader."

"Ahh," Kea replies, watching Tank talk to Diane, she turns to Isabella confused, "So, which one is Tank again?"

Isabella gives Kea a strange look before she turns to her in panic, "Crap, Tank is coming over here! He can't know that we were spying on him. We got to go!"

"Huh?" Kea speaks as Isabella grabs her by the arm and drags her into her dorm room. Kea pulls her arm free from Isabella, "Hey! I was watching that!" she exclaims, shaking her newly freed hand, "What's so important about Tank talking to this Diane girl anyway?"

"Because if things go well then he'll finally get a girlfriend," Isabella responds.

"Well if he wants a date so bad, he should just call the Matchmaker. She can find someone for everyone," Kea says, gazing at the pictures on Isabella's bulletin board.

"Really?" Isabella responds, walking up next to her, "Did she find someone for you?"

"Well, uh," Kea begins to stutter, she glances at a smirking Isabella, "Oh shut-up! I only called her once!"

Isabella smiles and laughs, "Whatever you say Kea, whatever you say."

_Meanwhile: In the Kitchen_

Tank is sitting at one of the black and white checked kitchen tables, staring at a bowl of macaroni placed in front of him. He sighs as Ripp comes over and sits down across from him.

"Hey Tank," Ripp greets, gazing down at his older brother, "So uh, how did it go talking with Diane?"

"Well to tell you the truth it wasn't that-hey, wait a minute!" Tank states looking up from his macaroni to glare at Ripp, "How did you know I was talking to her?"

"I live next door Tank, the walls aren't that thick. Do the math," Ripp replies.

Tank sighs, "Well since there's no one else here to talk to, I might as well tell you," Tank says scooting his chair closer to the table, and lowering his voice to a whisper, "I asked her out."

"Really?" Ripp responds, somewhat shocked that Tank had the guts to do something like that, "Did she say yes?"

"Uh, see, that's the thing," Tank replies nervously gazing out at his half-empty bowl; "She kind of told me that she already has a boyfriend. But you know, she thanked me for asking her," Tank sighs, "Do you think Diane will ever date me?" he asks his brother.

Ripp sits there trying to hide the smirk on his face, "You?" he states, "No."

Tank reaches his arm across the table and punches Ripp, "Oww!" he replies, rubbing his injured arm in pain, "Let me change that 'no' to 'DEFINITELY NOT'!"

"Just don't tell anyone about this okay?" Tank says to his newly-injured brother.

Ripp sighs reluctantly before responding, "Okay," he turns to Brent who is walking through the kitchen doorway, "Hey Brent! Did you hear? Tank got turned down by Diane because she said she already had a boyfriend!"

Brent walks over to the table and turns to Tank, a smirk plastered on his face, "But Diane doesn't have a boyfriend," he states, "Man, you've been burned."

"What?" Tank speaks up, before knocking his head down on the checked table in front of him, "Why me?"

"I don't know, maybe it has something to do with the fact that you're funny looking," Ripp replies, causing Tank to stand up from the table and crack his fists, "I mean uh, nothing. I have to go now, bye!" Ripp exclaims as he rushes out of the kitchen and locks himself in his room.

"Oh well, I guess it's strike one," Tank says slouching back down into his seat and placing his head in his hands, "At least things can't get any worse right?" he turns to Brent, "Right?"

Brent, upon noticing Tank's stare, looks around the room nervously before glancing down at his invisible watch, "Well, would you look at the time I really must be going. Bye!" And with that Brent races out of the room, leaving Tank once again alone.

Tank shakes his head in pity, "I always knew something like this would happen. I just never thought it would happen to me."

_The Next Day_

Ripp yawns and stretches as he gets out of his bed and exits out into the hallway to use the bathroom. Upon returning, he sees Tank unlocking his dorm room two doors down, happily whistling. Intrigued, and somewhat weirded out, Ripp walks over to him, "Hey Tank, you're in a good mood today," Ripp states, "What's the deal, did Diane finally accept?"

Tank turns to Ripp, rolling his eyes, "Psh, Diane is yesterday's news. I like someone else now. She's in my drama class, her name is Tiffany Sampson. She is so pretty and the best part is, she's not a stupid college townie!"

"Well maybe after Tiffany rejects you, you can date one of those," Ripp replies smirking.

Tank turns to Ripp with a sarcastic look on his face, "Haha, very funny. Now get out of my way, I have to hurry up and get ready so I can see her at the library. I'm going to ask her out today."

Ripp turns to Tank confused, "But wait, doesn't Tiffany have a-"

"Not now Ripp," Tank cuts him off, "I'm already five minutes late!" Tank reaches into his room and grabs his coat before racing down the hall, "Next time you see me I'll be on top of the world!"

_Five Hours Later_

Ripp is back sitting at the kitchen table watching Tank cry into his hands across from him. "Oh come on Tank," Ripp states, trying to console him, "I mean, look at the bright side. At least Tiffany actually has a boyfriend."

"This is it for me Ripp, there's no one out there for me. I'll never find anyone that actually likes me," Tank stops crying at look up at his brother, "Tell me Ripp, am I that big of a loser?"

Ripp sighs and looks at his broken brother, "Tank, you're not a loser," Ripp states.

"Then what's wrong with me?" Tank asks, "What am I doing wrong?"

"Well uh, maybe you're just being a tad too aggressive," Ripp responds, "Girls like soft guys with feelings, who are sensitive and all that crap. But how should I know? I've only dated one girl in my life."

Tank sniffs and stares at him, "Ripp, I can't believe I'm saying this but I want you to help me get a girl. I want you to teach me how to talk to them."

"Teach you?" Ripp replies, somewhat taken back, "Tank I don't know-" Ripp begins.

"If you don't then I'll beat you up and pound you until you bleed every single drop of blood out of your body," Tank states glaring across the table at him.

"Then let the teaching begin!" Ripp quickly replies terrified for his life, "This is great. Isabella told me that she wants to go to the campus coffee shop tonight, there will probably be a lot of girls there. With my experience, you'll be getting dates in no time."

"You have absolutely no idea what you're doing, do you?" Tank states doubtful, his right eyebrow raised.

Ripp stands up from his seat and turns to his brother, "Just come on, we have a lot of work to do before tonight. First, let's start with greetings…"


	12. Sophomore Year: Love at First Sight

_Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt_

_Chapter Eleven_

_Sophomore Year: Love at First Sight_

Isabella is standing in front of her dorm room door searching through her skirt pockets for her keys; Kea is right next to her gazing at the vending machines that are three feet away. "So I told Ripp that I would meet him at the coffee shop at seven. Apparently he's been teaching Tank how to talk to girls all day. So, are you gonna come with?"

Kea stops looking at the row of cookies in the glowing lime green machine and nods, "Yeah, but I'll probably have to meet you there. I have class until seven this semester so it will take me awhile to walk back to Pinetree."

Isabella digs to the bottom of her right pocket and pulls her key out, "Ah-ha!" she exclaims as she unlocks her bedroom door letting them inside, "So, made any good matchmaking calls lately?"

Kea glares, placing her hands on her hips, "For your information Ms. I-only-have-one-boyfriend, I don't call the matchmaker because I can find my own dates," Kea says as she takes a seat on the foot of Isabella's bed, "Besides, being single is sweet. You don't have to care about anyone but yourself and you can eat as many pancakes as you want, so take that." Kea takes a granola bar out of her pocket and eats it, "Mmm, garlic. You gotta love fast metabolism."

Isabella smiles and shakes her head at her friend with unusual tastes in food. "What am I going to do with her?" she asks quietly to herself.

_Three Hours Later_

Ripp and Tank are standing in the center of the coffee shop scanning the various college townies that are seated around them. Ripp turns to his brother, "Alright Tank, see anyone that you would like to talk to?"

Tank scans the area and stops at a blonde girl wearing a blue sweater and matching hat with her back turned to them; he points to her, "I know, how about her? She looks kind of cute."

The girl turns around exposing her big cheeked and crooked nosed face. Tank jumps back startled, "Eww, maybe not."

"Now come on Tank," Ripp speaks up, "Give her a chance, after all looks aren't everything."

"Ripp," Tank says stern trying to keep his voice quiet, "There is no way that I'm having babies with that thing. My children would never forgive me."

"Uh, isn't it kind of early to be thinking about that?" Ripp responds; Tank rolls his eyes. "Well okay then," Ripp continues, "Moving on." Ripp scans the room and points to a brown haired girl wearing an orange shirt and tan pants, "Ooh, how about her? She's not ugly."

Tank crosses his arms, "I don't like her outfit," he states, "It's too orange."

"Oh you are impossible!" Ripp exclaims, throwing his hands up in the air, "And I thought Brent was picky."

"Look Ripp," Tank says, trying to calm his brother down, "I'm sorry I'm picky but I just don't want to date someone that I don't really like. I mean, when I meet a girl I want it to be love at first sight," Tank gazes around the room at all of the girls, he shrugs, "And I'm just not feeling it with any of these townies."

Ripp nods, as if he understands, "I think I know what you mean. When I met Isabella the first time, I just had this really good feeling that spread throughout me, it was kind of hard to explain, but it was amazing," Ripp turns to his brother smiling, "Hmm, well if your girl's not here, then maybe she's in the other room," he says as him and Tank exit into the West side of the coffee shop.

_Meanwhile: On the East Side of the Coffee Shop_

Brent and Isabella are sitting in a red velvet colored booth drinking their hot chocolates. Isabella looks down at her watch which reads 7:25 p.m. and sighs. "I wonder where Kea is, she's never late when there's a chance to eat food."

"Don't worry, she'll be here," Brent replies, picking up a stack of cardboard coasters that are on the ledge next to him, "She probably just got out of class late."

_Meanwhile: Down the Street_

Kea is walking down the street carrying a map in front of her, she stops when she reaches the coffee shop. "See, I told Isabella I didn't need this!" Kea states, before crumpling the map in her hands and tossing it into the trashcan to the right of her, "Now, umm, how do I get in?"

Kea begins to look around the building, she stops when she sees a sign above the trashcan, "To enter the building please use either the East or the West entrance," Kea reads, before stepping back to gaze at the two entrances on either side of her, "Huh, I can't remember which side Isabella said she would be on," Kea sighs, "Oh well, I'll just go with the one that sounds like wheat." And with that, Kea opens the door to the left. It closes as she enters, the sign above the door reading 'West Entrance.'

_Meanwhile: On the West Side of the Coffee Shop_

"Tank, I already told you. That supposed 'girl' is a dude!" Ripp exclaims from their place in the back of the coffee line. "Ugh, we're going to be here all day aren't we?"

"I don't care how long it takes," Tank says, his arms crossed, "We're not leaving here until I find someone that I actually like."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Ripp mumbles under his breath, causing Tank to turn around and glare at him.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Tank questions him causing Ripp to back further away from where Tank is standing.

"Uh nothing," Ripp quickly responds as they step further up in line, "So what are we going to do if this whole thing is a failure?"

"This is not going to be a failure," Tank states dryly.

Ripp turns back to face Tank, throwing his arms out in frustration, "Face it Tank, we've been here for three hours and you haven't even found one person that you wanted to talk to, let alone date. Have you ever considered just calling one of those Gypsy Matchmakers?"

"Matchmakers? Are you kidding? I'm not wasting five thousand dollars for someone to set me up on a date that doesn't know squat about me!" Tank exclaims, "Besides, this way is much faster and less risky. That way I can see how ugly these townies are before I make the mistake of dating them," Tank explains before turning to look at the front entrance of the coffee shop; the door opens as a girl walks in, "After all, the last thing I want to do is…is…"

Ripp sighs heavily and rolls his eyes as he turns away from his brother, _"Unbelievable," _Ripp thinks to himself as he eyes the grilled cheese poster next to him,_ "When is he going to quit?"_

"Can I help who's next?" the cashier calls from behind the counter.

Ripp nudges his brother, "Tank, that's you!"Tank doesn't move. Ripp nudges him again, "Tank, didn't you hear me? You're next in line."

Tank continues to stand still, staring across the room with a goofy smile spread across his face. "Tank?" Ripp calls again, waving his hand in front of his face trying to snap him out of it, "Tank are you okay?"

"Why of course I'm okay Ripp," Tank finally speaks, with a surprisingly calm tone, "I'm in love."

Ripp quickly grabs Tank by the arm and pulls him out of line to glance around the room, "So, where's the love of your life?"

Tank slowly lifts up his left hand and points to the front entrance, "There she is, isn't she beautiful?"

Ripp follows the imaginary line from Tank's eyes to the door, he eyes land on a familiar looking blonde long haired silver eyed girl, wearing a pink shirt and a black plaid skirt and silver heels. "Uh oh."

"Hey Ripp! Have you seen Izzy anywhere? I was supposed to meet her here a half hour ago," Kea says as she walks over to them from the doorway, she stops when she notices Tank staring at her funny, "Uh, is something wrong with your brother?"

"Hey Kea," Ripp greets as he stands awkwardly between her and Tank, "I think Isabella's on the east side of the coffee shop with Brent. Do you want me to take you there?"

"Sure, that sounds great," Kea says, taking out a walkie-talkie and holding it up, "I still have to give Brent this back from when we sabotaged Izzy's date. Good times."

"Wait, I'll take you!" Tank speaks up, "Ripp would probably get you lost anyway."

"Hey!" Ripp pipes in, insulted.

Kea smiles and turns to Tank, "Okay," she agrees, "I guess it wouldn't really matter who takes me as long as I get there. Which reminds me-" Kea takes a piece of beef jerky out of her pocket and takes a bite of it.

Ripp and Tank both watch her devour it. Ripp is somewhat disgusted whereas Tank is fascinated by her actions._ "Oh that is so hot," _he thinks as he leads Kea into the next room of the coffee shop, leaving his brother behind to buy coffees.

"So, you're Tank," Kea says, finishing the rest of her beef jerky, "I guess I should introduce myself since I haven't officially met you yet. I'm Kea, Kea Kalson, you know, Isabella's best friend."

"Uh-huh," Tank nods, not taking his eyes off of her.

"Well, she doesn't really know that I call myself that, but I really don't think she would care because Ripp's her boyfriend and Brent is her brother, so what does that leave me, know what I'm saying?" Kea continues.

"Uh-huh," Tank nods again, the same goofy love-struck look spread across his face; Kea gazes at him strangely.

"You know, you really need to have that checked out," Kea states as she rounds the corner of the hallway.

"You are so pretty," Tank blurts out; Kea steps back.

"Umm, thanks," Kea says before going on another rant, "I get it from my mother. Just kidding, I actually get it from me. I'm so good looking, at least that's what my psychiatrist says," she turns to look into Tank's blue eyes, "Dr. Weylon is that you?"

Tank smiles and laughs softly, "Hey, would you possibly be interested in going out with me sometime?"

"Umm, I don't really know you very well," Kea states as they walk into the east side of the coffee shop.

"But you know Izzy," Tank speaks up, "And it's not a long stretch to call me her in a dude's body, it's pretty much the same thing."

Kea steps back from Tank, weirded out. Noticing this Tank quickly adds, "And I could take you to the park and we could beat up little kids-" a terrified look forms on Kea's face, "I-I mean uh, buy them candy and explosives! Okay, no explosives just candy. Sweet, sweet candy, so what do you say?"

"Well would you look at that," Kea says heading towards the left side of the room, "Izzy's calling me, see you later Plank!"

"It's Tank!" Tank calls after her in disappointment.

"Bye Rake!" Kea says rushing over to Isabella's table and getting into the booth.

"Crap," Tank says to himself; standing alone in the center of the room, "I messed up big time."

_Later that Night_

"Tank asked you out?" Isabella repeats to Kea who is seated on her bed on the right side of Isabella's bedroom. Isabella is lying down on the carpet in the middle of the floor.

"Yeah," Kea answers before continuing on with her explanation, "It was kind of creepy. He kept on giving me these weird looks, like a deer caught in the headlights of a minivan."

Isabella grabs a piece of hair from her ponytail and begins to play with it, "So, when are you guys going out?"

"Umm, Izzy?" Kea responds, moving herself off of the bed to join her friend on the carpet, "Did you not hear me five seconds ago? Tank creeps me out; I don't like him, well at least not in the way that he wants me to."

Isabella begins to chuckle. "What's so funny?" Kea asks.

"Sorry," Isabella manages to say between laughs, "It's just that you and Tank are so similar. It's like you just turned down yourself in a tan muscular dude's body."

"What?" Kea exclaims, crossing her arms, "Isabella, let me make one thing clear," Kea begins, "Tank and I are not alike at all, and we have absolutely nothing in common."

Isabella turns around so she is now lying on her stomach, "But what about your age?"

"Well, I guess there's-" Kea begins.

"And your taste in music?" Isabella states.

Kea nods in reluctant agreement, "Yeah, but-"

"And your love of Cheddar Cheese?"

"Stop naming things!" Kea outbursts, "The point is, the feelings that he displays for me are not mutual, and that is why we can only be friends and nothing more."

"But Kea-" Isabella starts.

"Nothing!" Kea snaps, turning her back to Isabella so that she is facing her bed.

Isabella sighs and sits up from off of the carpet, "Come on Kea, can't you just give him a chance? I mean, I went out with Tank before and it wasn't so bad."

Kea turns around, giving Isabella a doubtful look before raising an eyebrow.

"Okay, so maybe it was bad-" Isabella begins, frantically continuing when she notices the doubtful expression on Kea's face, "But it wasn't his fault that I had a terrible time!" Isabella pauses to look at her friend, "Come on Kea, Tank's cute isn't he? That has to count for something."

Kea sighs, her arms crossed as she looks to the floor. She sighs, "If I go on one date with him, do you promise not to pressure me into dating anyone ever again?"

Isabella nods and holds up her right hand in honor, "I promise."

"Alright fine, I'll date him," Kea says as turns her head to glance out the window to pout. She quickly turns back to Isabella, extending her pointer finger out in warning, "But I'm not going to like it."

Isabella smiles at her friend, "That's all I could ever ask for Kea, date him once and I'll be happy." She turns away from Kea to glance out the window, _"Date him twice and I'll be thrilled,"_ she adds to herself.


	13. Sophomore Year: Just a College Townie

_Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt_

_Chapter Twelve_

_Sophomore Year: Just a College Townie_

Isabella is standing outside of her bedroom unlocking the door with a key, she stops when she sees Ripp step out of his room and turns to him. "Hey Ripp," Isabella greets, "Haven't seen you since last night, how's the big literature report coming along?"

"Okay I guess," Ripp replies, he sighs, "Unfortunately I haven't had much time to revise it since Tank finally got a date last night. Can you believe that Kea actually agreed to go out with him?"

Isabella smiles and steps back, trying hard not to laugh, "Yes," she weakly responds.

Ripp crosses his arms, raising an eyebrow, "Let me guess, you made her."

"Made is such a harsh, accurate word," Isabella says, "I prefer the word suggested."

"Either way, we better hope this date goes well, or we're both dead," Ripp says, backing towards his bedroom door, "Well I should probably go back to revising my report, see you later Izzy."

"Bye Ripp!" Isabella responds, before turning her focus back on opening her bedroom door. _"Ripp's right, if things don't go well on their date, we'll both be dead and our lives will be over. Fortunately, I think I can help."_

She turns the knob and enters the room, digging around on her desk until she finds her campus directory. She flips through the pages of the directory until she comes to the letter k.

"Ahh, here we go, Kea Kalson," Isabella reads aloud, "5267 Pinetree Dormitory." Isabella closes up the directory and places it into her book bag. _"Now let's see if I can catch her while she's coming back from class."_

_Meanwhile: Two Doors Down_

Tank is lying on his stomach on the carpeting of his bedroom with his head in his hands. He sighs lovingly, looking up at the wall, while Ripp watches him from the doorway disturbed.

Tank smiles, "Ripp, I'm so in love with Kea."

"I know," Ripp responds, trying hard to keep his breakfast from coming back up, "It's starting to creep me out."

Tank, oblivious to Ripp's disgust continues, "Do you think she loves me too?" he asks him.

"Well, nothing's impossible."

"Man, I can't wait to go out with her tonight," Tank says as he sits up on the floor, "I'm going to beat up a bunch of people to try to impress her, after all, dad says that's the only way to really get a girl to like you."

Ripp sighs, slapping his face in frustration, "Okay, word of advice, if you want to get a girl to like you, don't take pointers from dad."

Tank gives Ripp a look of confusion, "Why not?"

"Uh, just trust me, it's not a good idea," Ripp states, trying to avoid eye contact with his older brother. "So uh, where are you taking her again?"

"I'm supposed to take her somewhere?" Tank asks, causing Ripp to once again slap his face in his own frustrations.

"_Something tells me this is going to take awhile."_

_Meanwhile: In Front of Pinetree Dormitory_

Isabella is standing on the front porch of Pinetree waiting patiently for Kea to arrive. She looks down at her watch, her foot tapping in impatience, "Gosh, where is she?" Isabella says to herself, "She should've been here a half an hour ago."

All of a sudden, Isabella spots Kea crossing the street with a pile of books in her hands. Kea continues to walk along the sidewalk towards the entrance of the dormitory, she stops when she sees Isabella on the porch. "Hey!" Kea greets, a little surprised, "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, I just wanted to see how you were doing," Isabella asks, having a hard time looking Kea straight in the eyes, "After all, you have a big night ahead of you."

"What?" Kea states, giving Isabella a look of confusion, she waves it off, "Oh, _that?_ That's nothing, it's not that big of a deal."

"Kea," Isabella responds, following Kea into the dormitory and down the hallway, "Your first date with Tank is not nothing."

"Yes it is!" Kea exclaims, reaching into her pockets to search for her keys, "I mean, it's not like it's going to go anywhere anyway. Why is it such a big deal?"

Isabella sighs, holding onto her books tighter, "Just because it's not a big deal to you, doesn't mean that it's not a big deal to Tank," Isabella explains, "Besides, you don't know that it's going to be a dead end, who knows, maybe you'll have such a great time that you'll go on another date and another and another until one day he proposes to you and you guys get married."

Kea gives Isabella an unbelieving glare.

"Oh come on, it's not impossible!" Isabella states before stepping into Kea's bedroom and taking a seat on her bed, she sighs, "Just promise me that you're going to at least take this seriously."

Kea sighs, sitting down next to her friend, "Fine, I'll take this seriously," she says, "Now, how am I supposed to do that?"

Isabella smiles and stands up from her place on the bed, walking over to Kea's open closet, "Well, for one thing. You can dress up a little for it."

"Forget it," Kea replies, walking over to Isabella, turning her back to the closet completely.

"But don't you want to look nice for him?" Isabella asks, as she begins to flip through the clothes hung up in Kea's closet.

"No!" Kea exclaims, "I didn't even want to go out with him in the first place! You're the one that blackmailed me into it."

Isabella stops give Kea a look of doubt, "Taking a picture of you eating a muffin doesn't count as blackmailing someone!"

Kea sighs and blops down into her desk chair, turning away from Isabella with her arms crossed grumbling, "It is if it's an orange raspberry one."

Isabella steps closer to her friend, giving Kea a 'you're-making-a-big-fuss-over-nothing' look. "_Kea_-"

Kea jumps up from her chair, "Don't you Kea me! I already told you that I'm not dressing up for this 'date'. If anything, I should under-dress for it. After all, he's going to be wasting three hours of my life."

Isabella continues to glare at Kea, she crosses her arms.

"I mean it Isabella," Kea says stern, "I'm not dressing up for this date and there's nothing you can do to make me."

_Five Minutes Later_

Kea is standing outside of Cassandra's dormitory wearing a mid-length powdered blue dress with frilly short sleeves and silver heels, her arms crossed, "I can't believe there was something you could do to make me wear this! You are pure evil," she says to Isabella, who is standing right next to her, smirking.

"I know," she responds, "Now, hurry up or you're going to be late for your date!"

Kea sighs and heads up the steps of the dormitory, she stops to look at her friend, "Well, here I go," Kea states hesitant, "Is there anything that you would like to say to me before I ruin my life?"

"Oh yeah," Isabella responds, heading towards her on the middle step, "You forgot your daisies!" she states, taking out a daisy from behind her back and placing it in Kea's hair, "Perfect," Isabella gives Kea a thumbs up, "Okay, you're good to go."

"Thanks," Kea softly replies before placing her hand on the door, "Well I guess I'll just-hey look a Nobel Prize Winner!"

"Where?" Isabella states frantically looking around behind her. Kea races past her, running as far as she can away from Cassandra's dorm, "Hey!" Isabella exclaims noticing her, "Get back here!"

"No!" Kea shouts heading across the street, "Not until you cancel this stupid date! There's no way that I am possibly going out with Tank! And there's nothing you can do to make me!"

"Kea, you promised!" Isabella calls out, racing after her down the street. "Come on, it won't be that bad! You're acting childish!"

"Easy for you to say, you don't have to actually experience the torture!" Kea states before quickly turning the corner and hiding behind one of the bushes behind the library. "Whew," she says, trying to catch her breath, "At least that's over."

"Hey Kea!" Kea screams as she turns towards the person standing next to her.

"Brent? What are you doing here?" she asks, Brent opens his mouth to answer but is cut off, "Never mind that, you have got to help me, Isabella is trying to get me to go out with Tank!"

"Ouch," Brent responds, "Now why would she do that?"

Kea sighs and begins to shuffle her feet, "Oh I don't know, maybe because I kind of promised I would."

"Oh," Brent replies, "Sounds like you're a little afraid to date."

"What makes you say that?" Kea asks, suddenly intrigued by Brent's words.

"Because I've never seen you run so fast in my life."

Kea softly laughs, "Yeah, I guess I am kind of afraid to date. Maybe it's because I haven't really had that much luck when it came to guys in the first place," Kea sighs and looks to the ground, "No one ever wants to date a college townie."

"So you assume that since Tank is a premade, he's not going to want to date you because you're not like him?" Brent states understanding.

Kea nods, "Yeah," she pauses before continuing, "Or worse, he'll date me and then dump me when a better premade comes along, and I can't go through that pain…not again," she finishes softly.

Brent turns to Kea, placing an arm around her, "That's not going to happen," he says into the growing silence between them.

Kea sighs, listening to the sound of the gentle breeze blowing through the maple trees above them, "How do you know?"

Brent smiles, "Because if Tank even thinks about doing that to you, I'll pound him."

Kea turns to Brent and smiles, tears forming in her eyes. "Thanks Brent," she struggles to choke out.

"No problem," Brent states, before pulling Kea into a side hug, "Now come on, you have a date to go on."

Kea smiles and turns to him, "Yeah, I sure do," she heads toward the sidewalk, still looking at Brent, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to give Isabella a run for her money and pretend this whole thing never happened." Spotting Isabella across the street, Kea calls out to her friend, "Hey Izzy, if you want me to date Tank so bad, than you'll have to catch me first!"

Isabella smiles from across the street, "Oh, I'll catch you alright! Get back here Kalson!"

Kea takes off down the street back towards Cassandra's dormitory, with Isabella following behind her. Kea glances down at her watch on her right arm and panics, _"Crap it's almost eight, I'm going to be late!"_

"Kea!" Isabella calls out from behind her, causing Kea to abruptly turn around to face her.

"What?" Kea exclaims ramming into someone causing her to fall to the ground with a thud. Kea slowly lifts her head up, her hand resting against it trying to soothe her aching head. Kea sits up when she notices the person lying below her.

"Hey Kea," Tank states from the ground, "Are you okay?"

"Tank," Kea says, quickly getting off of him and standing off from the grass, "I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going and-"

"It's fine," Tank says, standing up as well, "Really, don't worry about it," Tank smiles when he sees her standing in front of him, "Wow, you look really pretty."

"Thanks," Kea replies, trying to hide a blush, "It was my idea to dress up."

Isabella, who is standing next to Ripp on the front porch, out of breath turns to them, "But she never-aww forget it!" she exclaims, throwing her hands up in frustration.

Ripp turns and looks at Isabella, who is leaning over the railing having a hard time catching her breath, "Isabella, are you alright?" he asks, "What happened to you?"

Isabella lifts her head up and turns to him, "Let's just say Kea wasn't one hundred percent onboard with this date," Isabella turns to look at Tank and Kea who are conversing several feet in front of them smiling, "But I sure am happy she is now," Isabella smiles, "Now come on, I think they're serving spaghetti for dinner tonight."

"Sweet, I'm in!" Ripp says, following right behind Isabella towards the kitchen. He stops at the front door and turns to look at his brother who is outside smiling happily with Kea, _"Hmm, maybe our lives won't be over after all."_


	14. Sophomore Year: Romance Disasters

_Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt_

_Chapter Thirteen_

_Sophomore Year: Romance Disasters_

Tank and Kea are walking down the sidewalk across from Cassandra's dormitory, with Tank leading the way. Kea, having a hard time walking in heels, stops to rub her aching feet. "So," Kea begins, looking up at Tank, "Where are we going again?"

"Well, I was going to take you to the park first," Tank answers uneasily, "But if you're hungry, we can always go dumpster diving." Kea drops her foot down, a disturbed expression spread across her face. "That was a joke," Tank states.

"Oh," Kea replies, forcing herself to let out a small laugh, "Uh, let's go now," she says, as the two of them continue walking towards the entrance of the park.

_Meanwhile: In Cassandra's Dormitory_

Ripp and Isabella are sitting at a black and white checked table in the cafeteria, finishing up their spaghetti dinners. Isabella stops eating when she notices her brother approaching the table.

"Hey Izzy," Brent greets, placing his hands flat down on the tabletop, "I was looking all over for you! Apparently, the university is throwing a little meet-and-greet for all of the Romance Sims on campus tonight, you in?"

"Uh," Isabella begins, turning to exchange a look of panic to Ripp across the table, "Gee, that sounds great Brent, but I actually can't because umm…" Isabella frantically glances around the room searching for an excuse to get out of it; she spots a townie sitting at a table near them, "I promised I would tutor Lindsey today," Isabella states, smiling innocently.

"Oh okay," Brent responds, "Well hopefully you can make the one next week. After all, this is just the intro meeting!" Brent exclaims, causing Isabella's face to fall, "See you later little sister!"

"Bye Brent," Isabella says weakly, as she watches her brother exit through the front door; she blops her head down into her spaghetti and groans.

"So when are you going to tell Brent that you aren't a Romance Sim anymore?" Ripp asks to the back of his girlfriend's head.

Isabella lifts her head up and faces Ripp, "I'll tell him eventually, these things take time. I mean I can't just walk up to him and tell him straight out that I'm a Family Sim."

"Why not?" Ripp asks, confused.

"Hmm, I guess you're right," Isabella replies, a small smile forming on her face, "I guess I could do that," Isabella gets up out of her seat and turns to him, "Thanks Ripp."

"Hey, you thought of it," Ripp replies smiling, getting up from the table as well, "I just wanted to get your face out of your spaghetti."

_Meanwhile: At the Park_

Tank and Kea are sitting on one of the green park benches that are situated in front of a red and blue playground structure. Kea smiles and turns to Tank, watching the children play in front of them, "So tell me about you Tank."

"About me?" Tank repeats, he shrugs, "There's not much to say about me. I'm a Grunt, that should be enough of an explanation for you."

"What's a Grunt?" Kea asks intrigued, "Sounds painful."

Tank smiles, entertained by her actions, "That's my last name," he answers, "You know, like your last name is Kalson."

"Yeah," Kea says, "And that's not just because it says that on my bracelet," she completes, holding up her right arm to show Tank the gold lettered name bracelet around her wrist.

"Wow, that's a really nice bracelet," Tank states, holding her wrist up gently to take a better look the shiny gold band, "Where did you get it?"

Kea smiles, "Oh, my grandma gave it to me," she replies, before slipping the bracelet off of her wrist and handing it to Tank who is situated next to her, "You can see it if you like."

Tank nods, turning the gold lettered name bracelet around in his hand, "It's very pretty," he states, eyeing the nine engraved letters that spell out 'Kea Kalson' on the front of it, "But I thought college townies didn't have any relatives."

"Well not usually but-"

"Hey Kea!" an unfamiliar male voice calls out from across the park. Tank looks up only to find a blonde haired blue eyed sim about their age, wearing an orange shirt with yellow sleeves and blue jeans heading towards them. The guy continues waving to Kea as he walks across the playground, he stops when he is standing in front of her.

"Hey Curtis," Kea greets back, before turning to Tank, "Tank, I'd like you to meet someone. This is Curtis Adams, he's in my biology class. We're lab partners."

"And let me tell you, Kea is an amazing lab partner," Curtis adds, extending his hand out to shake, "I don't believe I've met you before, you a new townie?"

"Well actually I'm from Strangetown," Tank states, staring at his hand as if it were a foreign object. He leans closer to Kea, lowering his voice, "Hey Kea, maybe we should get out of here. You know, before the restaurant closes-"

"Restaurant?" Curtis repeats in confusion, retreating his hand to gaze at Kea, "Please don't tell me that this is that creepy premade that you were complaining about dating in class."

"Hey!" Tank exclaims, getting up from off of the bench to stare Curtis straight in the eyes, "Who are you calling creepy, you custom-face jerk!"

Kea quickly stands up, grabbing Tank's forearm in panic as she watches a crowd form around them, "Tank please," Kea states quietly through her teeth, "You're causing a scene."

"No I'm not!" Tank exclaims, clenching his fists even harder, "Besides, he started it!" Tank calls out, pointing to Curtis, who now has his arms crossed.

Curtis shakes his head in disappointment, "I thought you said you were over premades Kea, that you'd never date another one after what Andrew did to you. Ever since Andrew broke your heart you've never been the same. Let's face it, you know one premade you know them all," Curtis pauses, watching a hurt Kea drift her gaze to the floor before pointing to Tank, who is trying to grasp what Curtis is saying, "And in the end, he'll break your heart too, just like he broke your bracelet."

"What are you talking about…?" Tank begins, opening up his right hand only to find the golden pieces of Kea's broken bracelet inside of it. Tank turns to Kea, struggling to find the right words to say, "Kea," he says apologetically, "I'm so sorry."

Kea stands in silence before turning her back to him; she sighs, "Just go home Tank."

Tank nods, and turns around to leave. He stops when he notices the crowd dispersing and Curtis heading towards the opposite end of the playground. Tank races over to him and grabs Curtis by the shoulder, turning him around to face him. Curtis opens his mouth to speak, but Tank silences him.

"Listen you, I'm not sure exactly what you heard about me but I can assure you that my social class has nothing to do with the kind of person I am and how I'll treat Kea. It isn't fair for you to assume that all premades are the same, and it definitely isn't fair for you to judge me based on that alone."

Curtis turns to Tank firmly, looking him straight in the eyes, "I'm not judging you," he states, "I just don't want Kea to get hurt again. And if you get upset and have a rampage over one little thing, you really shouldn't be with Kea," he completes, backing up towards the entrance of the park, "You're heading for a dead end Tank, you're not like Kea. Kea will never love you. _Ever._"

Tank watches as Curtis disappears into the tree-filled park entrance, before angrily turning around and thrusting the pieces of Kea's broken bracelet into his left pocket, "Kea will never love me huh? Well we'll just see about that," he states as he exits out of the park and into the growing darkness of the evening.

_Meanwhile: Inside of Cassandra's Dormitory_

Isabella is standing outside of the lounge, leaning up against the back of the stairs trying to keep her heart rate down. She sighs, eyeing her target situated in the other room. "Well, here goes nothing," Isabella states as she walks into the living room in search of her brother.

Isabella stops walking when she finds Brent making out on the tan leather lounge room couch with a girl that appears to be Breanna. Isabella sighs and walks over to him. "Brent?" she speaks, after no response she opens her mouth again, "Hello, Brent?"

Brent temporarily ceases making out with Breanna to give his sister a glare, "Not now Isabella!" he states, "I'm busy!"

"Oh no you're not!" Isabella says, rolling her eyes as she pulls the two of them apart. Brent sits up with his hair all messed up and glares at his little sister.

"Hey! I was in the middle of something!" he exclaims.

Isabella glares at Brent and impatiently taps her foot, "Believe me, I know," she sighs, "Honestly Brent you're starting to embarrass me and that's supposed to be my job. After all, I am the younger sibling!"

"Sorry," Brent states quietly, hoping Breanna didn't hear him, "But I'm a Romance Sim, what do you expect?"

Isabella sighs, before giving a small smile, "Look, I really need to tell you something."

Brent gets up from off of the couch and turns toward his sister, causing Breanna to race out of the room behind him. "Oh no, don't tell me," Brent states, eyeing Isabella's stomach, "You're pregnant?"

"No!" Isabella exclaims, placing her arms over her stomach in defense, "It's about my aspiration."

"Oh," Brent says, his face suddenly lights up, "You finally got your second boyfriend? Oh Isabella, I am so proud of you! You're on your way to becoming a real kick-butt Romance Sim!"

Isabella slaps her face in frustration before plopping herself down on the couch; she sighs, "It this rate, you'll never find out," she says quietly to herself.

"Find out what?" Brent asks, stepping towards her intrigued.

Isabella sighs, having a hard time facing her older brother's gaze, "Brent, I'm not a Romance Sim anymore. I switched."

"Huh?" Brent states, unable grasp what he is hearing.

"Ripp and I switched aspirations the end of last year and I'm not a Romance Sim anymore," Isabella pauses to make sure that she has Brent's full attention for the words that she is about to speak next, "I'm a Family Sim."

"You're WHAT?" Brent exclaims, seemingly as though his words echoed throughout the entire dormitory. "Isabella, how could you?"

"I had to Brent," Isabella states, her eyes to the floor, trying not to let her emotions get the best of the situation, "I wanted to be with Ripp, I wanted to be in love for real," Isabella turns to gaze at Brent, only to find a strange expression of confusion and disbelief plastered on his face, "Besides, maybe there's more to life than just making out with people!"

"Since when?" Brent exclaims. He turns towards the kitchen, trying to keep his world from spinning. Brent keeps to himself for a few minutes before turning back stern towards Isabella, "College has changed you Isabella," he states, heading out the door, "I feel like I don't even know you anymore."

Isabella gets up from off of the couch and reaches out for her departing brother, "Brent, wait!"

But it was too late, he was gone.

_Later That Night_

Isabella is sitting on the front steps of Cassandra's dormitory with her head in her hands in silence. She sits up when she notices someone sit down next to her.

"It stinks doesn't it?" Tank states looking out at the park in the distance; "College stinks."

Isabella sighs and turns to the young adult situated on the steps beside her, "Yeah, I guess it does."

"Everyone thinks they know me before they've even met me," Tank states, picking up a pebble from the ground and tossing it into the grass, "They think I'm just like everyone else and it's not fair."

"I hear you," Isabella says, staring out into the distance, "My brother thinks all Family Sims are the same, when he never even took the time to get to know one," Isabella sighs and gazes at the ground beneath her, "A long time ago he told me that aspirations don't define people, but why is he treating me as if a Family Sim is all that I am? Like I'm not even his sister anymore?"

Tank sighs and turns to Isabella, placing a gentle hand on her right shoulder, "Because he's afraid. Up until now he assumed that all Family Sims were the same and then you come along and break the mold, causing him to question everything he thought was true. It's just like us and other premade sims. We're nothing like the others, and college townies will never understand that until they really get to know us."

Tank turns to Isabella and smiles as she lifts her head up to face him, "Of course, you know what we have to do now right?"

Isabella looks up at Tank, her eyes shining in wonder, "What?" she speaks.

Tank leans towards Isabella and whispers in her ear, "Prove them wrong."

With that, Tank gets up from off of the front porch and opens the entrance door to Cassandra's dorm. Isabella slowly stands up, her hair blowing gently in the breeze; she gives Tank a small smile.

"What?" Tank states, causing Isabella to race over to Tank and embrace him. Tank, now in a state of shock, stands there stiff as a board, before wrapping his arms around her returning the hug.

Isabella pulls away from Tank as she gazes up at him, smiling about a mile wide, "Thanks," she quietly states into the silence.

Tank smiles back, "No problem."


	15. Best Days of Their Lives

_Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt_

_Chapter Fourteen_

_Sophomore Year: Best Days of Their Lives_

Tank is in his bedroom sitting at his desk working intently on something, with only his desk light illuminating the shadows of his room. Intrigued by the dimly lit hallway; Ripp steps into his room and stands behind his older brother.

"Hey Tank," Ripp greets, trying to look over Tank's shoulder, "Uh, what are you doing?"

"None of your business," Tank answers as his picks up another gold piece with his tweezers and places it back down on the desktop.

Feeling like this was going nowhere, Ripp lets out a frustrated sigh and paces around the room before turning to face Tank once more. "So uh, how was your date with Kea last night?"

Tank sighs, letting go of the tweezers in his hands; they fall onto the wooden surface with a thud. "A disaster," Tank answers, turning to Ripp, "In one hour, I managed to embarrass Kea in front of hundreds of townies, one of her closest friends now hates me and I accidentally broke her priceless bracelet. But that's okay," Tank states as he holds up the remaining pieces of Kea's golden bracelet that are not situated on his desk, "I can fix this, right?"

The gentle movement of Tank's hand causes the bracelet fall to apart even more. Ripp looks down at the broken name bracelet and shrugs.

"Well uh, good luck with that. I have to head to English class now, don't want to be late-" Ripp heads towards the door but stops when he notices Tank dropping the golden pieces down on his desk in frustration.

"Ugh, what was I thinking? There is no way I can possibly fix this!" Tank says as he lies his head down on the desktop in defeat, "Kea's never going to talk to me ever again!"

Ripp glances at the clock which reads 8:01 p.m. next to him. He sighs, _"I can't believe I'm going to risk being late to class for Tank, something must be seriously wrong with me," _Ripp slowly exhales and turns to his brother, "Come on, it's not that bad," Ripp states, lying a comforting hand on Tank's shoulder, "I mean, considering that you possess absolutely no mechanical skills whatsoever, this is actually pretty good."

Tank lifts his head up to stare down at the remnants of Kea's golden bracelet, "Yeah, it's pretty good. But it's not good enough. Let's face it, Kea will never forgive me!"

"Yeah, probably not," Ripp says aloud, _"Hey, I have to get my kicks in one way or another,"_ he tells his guilty conscience.

Tank turns to Ripp, giving him a piercing glare, "Would it kill you to be a little more supportive of me?" he asks.

Ripp steps back, a look of confusion spreading across his face, "Supportive? Wait, you _want _me to be supportive of you?"

Tank nods, "Yeah, that's what family members do, they support one another. And we're family," Tank confesses, "You and I are brothers."

Ripp's eyes widen as he takes another step back, not believing what his ears just heard, "Okay, who are you and what have you done with Tank?"

Not wanting to waste the opportunity to make his younger brother uncomfortable, Tank smirks before continuing his statement, "I love you Ripp."

Ripp stands there, still as a statue, before he brings up his hand to his mouth in disgust, "Uh, if you excuse me, I have to go vomit," and with that, Ripp races out of the room and into the bathroom.

Tank shakes his head in pity as he hears the sounds of his brother puking down the hall, "That's my brother for you," he states to no one in particular, as he turns back to his task of fixing Kea's broken bracelet on the desk next to him.

_Meanwhile: In the Living Room_

Kea and Isabella are sitting on the two brown leather couches in the living room surrounded by darkness. Kea is situated on the couch located on the far right of the living room, holding a flashlight below her chin, illuminating her once-subtle facial features. "And that is the reason why you should never eat too much toothpaste," Kea says in a scary voice as she completes her ghost story, "Bwahahaha!"

Isabella gives Kea a confused look, "Uh, what does that have to do with Halloween again?"

"It has everything to do with Halloween!" Kea exclaims, throwing her hands up in the air to emphasis her point, "It's the whole reason why children get so many cavities in November!"

Isabella shifts her eyes from side to side as she scoots herself further away from Kea on the couch, "Uh, right," she says, "And explain to me again why you're telling a Halloween story in December?" Isabella completes as she glances at the various Christmas trees and decorations spread throughout the living room.

Kea sits up and glares at her friend, "You know, I don't need your sass!" she outbursts.

"My sass?" Isabella repeats, trying not to crack up into a fit of laughter.

"Yes your sass, Ms. Sassy-Sass!" Kea states smiling as she takes a bite out of an orange raspberry muffin. She turns to Isabella, "You're crazy!"

Isabella smiles and laughs, "Right, I'm the crazy one," she pauses before shaking her head, "You keep thinking that."

"Hey Kea," a voice quietly states. Kea looks up only to find Tank standing a few feet in front of her with one of his hands behind his back. Kea gives Isabella a confused stare before standing up to join him.

"Hey Tank," Kea greets back; she stops when she notices the scratch marks on Tank's right hand. "What happened to your hand?" she asks.

"Uh, nothing," Tank states, quickly moving his right hand behind his back as well. He turns to Kea, "Umm, can we like go somewhere and…talk?"

Kea glances over to the couch at Isabella, trying to read her facial expression for warnings. Finding none, she turns her attention back to Tank, giving a small smile, "Okay," she replies heading out the door beside him.

_Meanwhile: In Landside Hall_

The bell rings as Ripp gets up from out of his chair and begins to pack up his things. Around him dozens of students are racing over to the door to pick up their papers. By the time Ripp closes up his backpack, all of his classmates are gone. Ripp sighs as he puts on his backpack and walks toward his Literature professor, _"Well, I might as well face the music," _Ripp says as he stops in front of his professor's desk and looks down at the stack of papers in front of him, _"I hope I didn't do too bad."_

Sensing Ripp's presence, his professor looks up from the stack of papers and glances at Ripp, "Ahh, Mr. Grunt," he begins as he flips through the stack of reports in his hands.

Ripp opens his mouth to explain, "Professor Boreman I-"

He hands Ripp his paper, "Good work," he states. Ripp looks down at the letter grade written on the top of his paper. His mouth drops open as he finds an A written in red marker on the top margin of his report. Unable to speak, he looks back up at his professor.

Professor Boreman smiles, "Mr. Grunt," he states, his eyes seeming as if they were smiling as well, "Have you ever considered becoming a Literature major?"

"To tell you the truth, I guess I haven't really thought about it," Ripp manages to stutter out, still in disbelief of what just happened.

"Well you should," Professor Boreman states, turning towards the board before gazing back at his student, "You have a gift-a knack, as one might call it, for writing," Professor Boreman makes perfect eye contact with Ripp, "It would be a shame to waste it."

"Yeah," Ripp answers, staring off into the distance before gazing back up at his professor, "It would be."

Still sensing some hesitation in Ripp's voice, Professor Boreman continues, "A gift is a lot like life, you should never waste it," he turns to the blackboard and begins to erase the chalk markings on it, "Everyone always gives a million reasons why they can't do something, but in the end you'll realize that there's only one thing standing in your way on the road to success."

Ripp looks at Professor Boreman, intrigued, "What's that?" he asks.

Professor Boreman turns away from the board and smiles, "Yourself."

Ripp looks down at the ground and begins to wonder to himself, _"Maybe Professor Boreman's right, maybe I am the only thing standing in my way. Maybe the only reason why I can't seem to turn my life around is because I won't let myself. Well not anymore! From this moment on everything is going to change…starting now." _Ripp lifts his head back up and stares at his professor determined, "Professor Boreman, I have decided that I am going to take your advice. I am going to become a Literature major and not just any Literature major, I am going to become the best Literature major that Sim State University has ever seen."

Professor Boreman smiles and nods, "Well it's about time."

_Meanwhile: In the Lounge_

Tank and Kea are standing near the entrance of Cassandra's dormitory with nothing but empty chairs and desks surrounding them. After a short moment of silence, Tank finally opens his mouth to speak, "Kea, I'm really sorry about what happened yesterday."

"Oh Tank," Kea replies; brushing it off, "Let's just forget about it, it's not that big of a deal."

Tank shakes his head, trying to remain understanding, "Yes, it is," he says, "I completely overreacted and it's all my fault. I should have never taken it out on your nameplate," Tank states, pulling out the newly repaired golden bracelet from out of his pocket. "Here," he states, holding out the bracelet to its rightful owner.

Kea looks at the object in Tank's hand strangely, "What's this?" she asks him.

"Your bracelet," Tank says as he clasps it around Kea's right wrist, "I fixed it. It look me all day, but it's good as new now, I promise," Tank watches as Kea turns her wrist around to check out her golden bracelet, noticing her expression becoming a little happier. Tank smiles and grabs Kea's left hand, "Now, I just have one thing to ask you."

Kea places her other hand down, taken aback, "And what would that be…?"

_Meanwhile: On the Front Porch_

"Well I did it," Ripp states as he walks up the stairs and over to Isabella, who is situated in front of one of the lounge room windows, "I declared my major," he completes as he hugs Isabella from behind, "And I'm going to be the best darn Literature major ever!"

"Really?" Isabella says, as she tries to keep up with Ripp who is rocking both of them from side to side as he alternates standing on one foot to the other, "That's wonderful! Just in time too, you only had a semester left to declare."

"Mmm, yeah," Ripp states, as he presses the side of his face against Isabella's; he stops when he sees Tank kneeling on the lounge floor in front of Kea. "Uh, what the heck is going on?"

Isabella ceases rocking to gaze out the window with Ripp, "I have no idea," she says, somewhat panicked.

"Should we eavesdrop?"

"I don't know," Isabella responds looking up at her boyfriend, "That doesn't seem very honest-okay!"

"Sweet!" Ripp replies as they both race over to the window to watch the scene unfold in front of them.

_Meanwhile: In the Lounge_

"Kea," Tank states, completely obvious to the two sets of wondering eyes watching him from outside; "Will you go out with me again?"

"Oh Tank," Kea responds, trying her best to keep her heart rate down, "I don't know-"

"Please?" Tank pleads, "I promise I won't embarrass you ever again!"

"Well," Kea begins she turns to gaze at her newly repaired nameplate before once again looking at Tank, "Okay," she softly replies as Ripp and Isabella quietly enter the through the front door behind them.

"Awesome!" Tank responds standing up to face her. He leans in to kiss her. Upon seeing this, Kea slowly backs away putting her hands out in front of her.

"Uh Tank, not now," Kea states, trying hard to refrain from stuttering, "I uh, have to go…now. Bye." Kea says before she races out the front door. Leaving Tank confused in the center of the room.

Ripp and Isabella exchanges glances, unaware of what they should do. Finally, after much hesitation, Ripp steps forward and extends out a comforting hand to his brother. "Tank, I'm really sorry-"

"Forget it Ripp," Tank says stepping away from him, "It's not your fault. I'm fine," Tank answers, which is followed by his quick evacuation from the lounge.

Ripp turns to Isabella, shaking his head in sorrow, "He's not fine. He's really hurt."

Isabella nods understanding, "And he should be, he just got rejected for his first kiss," Isabella sighs as she plops herself down on the brown leather couch and places her head in her hands, "Poor guy."

Ripp sighs as he takes a seat next to her, "You know, for years I wished that Tank would finally get what's coming to him. But after seeing what we just saw, I would take it all back."

"So how are we going to get out of this?" Isabella speaks, breaking the brief moment of silence between the two of them.

"I don't know," Ripp responds, looking at the empty wooden bookcase situated a ten feet in front of him, "We never should have set them up. Our lives are over now."

"I wouldn't say that," Isabella states, her eyes shining as she looks up towards the window.

"Oh no," Ripp states gazing over at her, "I know that look. You thought of something. You have a plan, don't you?"

Isabella smiles and turns to Ripp, "I sure do, and it's going to work. It has to, or we're dead," Isabella completes as both her and Ripp exchange smiles.

"I hate to ask, but what is it?" Ripp questions the red-haired girl seated next to him.

Isabella gives a small laugh before gazing into Ripp's blue eyes and responding, "You'll just have to wait and see."

Ripp smiles and softly nudges Isabella's left shoulder, "That's what I'm afraid of," he states.


	16. Kea Kalson, This Isn't Your Life

_Author's Note: This chapter is dedicated to Green Mermaid Girl. One specific line in this chapter was inspired by an amazingly hilarious comment you made regarding Kea (see if you can guess which one) : D_

* * *

_Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt_

_Chapter Fifteen_

_Sophomore Year: Kea Kalson, This Isn't Your Life_

Ripp and Isabella are standing face-to-face in the living room of Cassandra's dormitory, doing their best to try to keep their voices down. "So we're both clear on the plan right?" Isabella asks Ripp, who is scanning around the room making sure that no one can hear them.

"Yes," Ripp responds, trying to keep his voice to a low whisper, "I talk to Tank to make sure that he's not too depressed while you talk Kea into going on another date with him," Isabella nods, pleased with his answer. Ripp tries to smile back, but for some reason gives her a shrug, "Gosh I hope this works."

"Don't worry," Isabella replies, eyeing Breanna who is walking towards the bookcase across the room, "It will," Isabella sighs, "It has to."

Ripp and Isabella both race down the stairs and into the hallway. They stop in front of Tank's bedroom door; Ripp turns to her. "Well, here goes nothing," he states as he knocks on the door. Isabella whispers a quick 'good luck' to him and exits into the lounge before Tank appears at the doorway.

Tank raises an eyebrow at his unusually nervous younger brother. "Can I help you?" Tank asks more impatiently than usual, his arms crossed.

"Uh yeah," Ripp says weakly, shuffling his feet trying his best to ignore the suspicious glare forming on Tank's face, "I just-you know, wanted to know if-uh, are you okay?"

Tank glares at Ripp for what seemed like hours, "I'm fine, couldn't be better," Tank finally replies, "Now go away!"

"Tank, are you sure-?" Ripp turns to look to his older brother, but is greeted instead by a slamming door in his face. "Fine!" Ripp angrily says into the hardwood door, "Believe me, you don't need to tell me twice!" With that, Ripp walks down the hallway and into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him. He leans up against the back of his door and rolls his eyes, "Psh, brothers."

_Meanwhile: In the Lounge_

Isabella is sitting on center cushion of the beige couch reading a magazine entitled '_Life in Pleasantview.' _She turns the page, "Wow, four girlfriends? That guy has way too much time on his hands."

"Hey Izzy," Isabella looks up only to find Kea towering over her standing as she stares down at the magazine in Isabella's hand. "Reading about Pleasantview again?" Kea asks.

Isabella nods, "Yeah," she responds while rolling up the magazine placing it inside of her light pink book bag, "Actually, Ripp has a subscription to these magazines. I just steal them from his bedroom when he's asleep," Isabella turns to her friend and smiles, "So, what's up?"

Kea smiles nervously as she shifts from one foot to the other in discomfort, "I was wondering if maybe we could talk about something."

Isabella smiles as she gets up from off of her seat on the couch, "Sure, we should probably go to my room though. We'll have much more privacy."

Kea sighs and plops down on Isabella's bed when they arrive in her room; she sighs before turning to Isabella, "Are you mad at me?"

Isabella finishes locking the door behind them and places the key into her pocket. She shakes her head at Kea, "No, why would I be mad at you?"

Kea looks down at Isabella's pink pastel colored carpet and sighs, "Because I rejected your friend," she says softly.

Isabella takes a seat in her desk chair after turning it around to face the bed, "Hey, it's your life, who am I to judge?" she replies, causing Kea's whole face to light up in joy.

"Good. I was hoping you'd say that," she replies as Isabella gives up on the chair and sits down on the bed next to her, "Isabella, you're such a good friend-always there for me, staying out of my love life and trusting me to make my own decisions. Only a really good friend would do those things for me."

Isabella shifts around uncomfortably, "Huh yeah," she responds, suddenly having a hard time looking Kea straight in the eyes. A feeling of guilt washes over her; Isabella turns away from Kea.

"Is something wrong?" Kea asks with a concerned tone in her voice.

Isabella tries to shake the worried expression off of her face, but is unable to. "What?" she finally manages to squeak out as she quickly shakes her head, trying to snap herself out of it, "No, nothing's wrong. I was just thinking-you know, about this girl in my class."

"Oh really?" Kea asks intrigued, "What about her?"

Isabella sighs, _"Well, here goes nothing," _she thinks as she begins phase one of the plan. "Well, see she's having this problem with her friend named uhh…" Isabella frantically glances around the room searching for a name to use, she spies a bottle of Mia glue on her bookcase, "Mia. Mia Gluestick." Isabella completes, before mentally slapping herself in the face.

"Mia Gluestick?" Kea uneasily repeats.

"Yeah, she's uh-foreign exchange student," Kea nods as if she understands and wants Isabella to continue causing Isabella to breathe a sigh of relief, "Anyway, Mia was a service sim and she only dated service sim guys because her family and friends told her to stay away from other types of sims cause they weren't like them."

"Uh-huh," Kea nods, telling her to go on.

Isabella sighs, "So anyway, one day after Mia got her heart broken by this jerky service sim, Mia went to college and met this girl named…uh, Ella and they became friends right away even though Ella was a premade sim and Mia was not."

"I see…shiny things!" Kea exclaims holding up a mini disco ball keychain and throwing it over her head, she turns to Isabella, "You were saying?"

"One day while Mia was at the coffee shop one of Ella's friends-who was also a premade sim-fell in love with her, and his name was uh, Rake! Rake asked Mia out, but she wasn't sure if she should date him because her parents always told her to stay away from sims in different social classes, but her friend Ella convinced Mia to go on a date with him and she did. But unfortunately the date didn't go very well and Rake broke her bracelet. Rake felt so bad that he spent the entire day fixing it and he gave it back to Mia when she came back the next day."

"Oh," Kea smiles, "That sounds really sweet."

Isabella nods, feeling a smile spread on her face as well, "Yeah, it was," she agrees before continuing on with the story, "Rake felt really bad about their terrible date the previous day and asked Mia to give him another chance. Mia said that she would and Rake was really happy because he really liked her, then he tried to kiss her but Mia rejected him."

Kea nods, "Ahh, so she likes to play hard to get huh?" Kea shakes her head, "Geez, what a jerk!"

Isabella she pulls her knees up on the bed and rests her chin on them before looking back at her best friend, "That night Ella and Rake's brother came up with a plan to get the two of them back together because they knew that Rake was really in love with Mia, and even though Mia didn't know it yet, she was in love with him too. But then the next day, Mia came over to talk to Ella and she told her about how great of a friend she was and how she was really happy that she was minding her own business and staying out of her love life. And Ella began to feel guilty because she was plotting this huge plan to get her and Rake together behind her back. But Ella only did it because her and Rake's brother were 100% sure that Mia and Rake belonged together and she really cares about both of them a whole lot."

Kea looks at Isabella thoughtful, "And that's it," Isabella adds, "That's as far as it goes so far."

Kea nods, seemingly impressed, "Wow, you know if you changed the names of some of those people in the story, that would sound very similar to our situation," Kea states putting her hand out and waving it off, "But come on! No one could ever come close to having_ that_ big of a problem!" Kea puts lowers her voice and whispers in Isabella's ear, "And if you ask me, that Mia girl needs some serious therapy…STAT!"

Isabella sighs and gets up off of the bed; she turns to Kea and throws her arms down in frustration, "Well, I tried." Isabella then turns toward the window and begins to ponder to herself, "I guess I have no choice now but to be as blunt as possible. " Isabella sighs and turns to Kea, "Kea, I really think you should go out with Tank again," she says.

"What?" Kea exclaims, standing up from the bed to face her, "But what does that have to do with the whole Mia and Rake situation?"

Isabella sighs and grabs Kea by the shoulders, shaking her lightly, "Mia is _you_ Kea!"

An expression of confusion forms on Kea's face, "My name is Mia Gluestick?" she asks, causing Isabella to slap her face in frustration, "Hmm, I'm Mia Gluestick?" Kea repeats, "Well I guess I won't be needing this anymore!" Kea states as she takes her nameplate off of her right wrist and tosses it into a nearby trashcan with a clunk.

"Kea!" Isabella exclaims as she takes her bracelet out of the trashcan and hands it back to Kea to fasten around her wrist, "Look, forget the whole stupid story. The point is, you need to date Tank again!"

Kea crosses her arms in annoyance, "Okay Izzy, no offense but I never interfered with your love life."

"Yes you did!" Isabella exclaims, "Remember when you took me up to the roof during the dance last year while Brent dressed Ripp up as me so he could break up with Tank, and you shouted at your grandma and told me the entire history of Cheddar Cheese to distract me so Tank would think I stood him up and I would get back together with Ripp?"

Kea gives Isabella a blank look before responding, "Uh, no." Isabella groans in frustration causing Kea to place both of her hands on Isabella's shoulders, "Besides, this is different. I already went out with Tank, and I found out that I don't like him. It's not like we already went out before, like you and Ripp, and we were just trying to speed your relationship up!"

Isabella throws her arms out, "How do you know that you don't like Tank? You don't even know him! You only assume that you don't like Tank because your-your social class-ist!" Isabella gives Kea a look of false determination or as Kea calls it giving her the 'I have a point' look.

Kea stops pacing and glares at her stomping her foot in anger, "I am not! If I was then I wouldn't be friends with you now, would I?" Kea pauses, they both glare at each other intensely, "You know what, maybe I shouldn't be friends with you anymore, you're such an arrogant little brat. You only care about yourself, not me. You're just like every other premade sim I've ever met!"

Isabella turns away, her arms crossed, feeling tears begin to form in her eyes. She tries to hide the fact that she is crying, but is having a hard time because she feels herself start to hyperventilate.

"Well, if that's how you feel," Isabella begins struggling to control her breathing, "Then maybe you should go." Isabella waits for Kea to leave, but she doesn't.

Kea stands there lost in thought before she can even turn to the door.

"_Every single premade sim you will ever meet will hate you because you are not one of them," Kea's dad echoes in her mind, "All of them are the same, there are absolutely no exceptions…_

_Exceptions…_

_Exceptions…"_

_Kea is walking down Tripp Avenue heading towards her biology discussion. She stops when she sees a red-haired girl wearing a pink dress struggling to get through the crowd. __"Excuse me, do you know where the art building is?" the girls asks._

"_Get lost townie!" the college student responds, walking right by her._

"_But I'm not a townie!"_ _the girl calls out, looking confused out of her mind._ _She turns to a girl dressed in a blue hat and a matching blue sweater, "Excuse me, but I'm kind of lost. Do you think you can help me find my class?"_

"_Go back to Strangetown you brat!" the girl responds walking right past her. The girl backs up, obviously taken off-guard and accidentally bumps into someone._

"_Hey, watch it!" the guy responds, "What's your problem?" he asks before walking away._

_The girl sighs, watching him walk away, "I don't know," she says to herself. _

_Kea shakes her head watching the whole scene nearby, "Poor girl, she probably doesn't even know what's going on," Kea stops and looks around, "I know I'm not supposed to help her, but if I don't who will?" _

_Kea sighs as she walks up behind the girl, "Oh, don't mind him,"_ _Kea states, "He's just upset because he's going to be here forever."_

_The girl turns around, her extremely red hair and gray eyes shining in the sun, wearing a mid-length bright pink dress. "Hey, I'm Kea. Kea Kalson," Kea continues, holding out her hand._

_The girl smiles and shakes it, "Isabella eXtreme."_

"_Premade sims only want to hurt you," Kea's mother voices over in her mind, "And they love nothing more than to see you suffer…"_

_Suffer…_

_Suffer…"_

"_So you assume that since Tank is a premade, he's not going to want to date you because you're not like him?" Brent states understanding._

_Kea nods, "Yeah," she pauses before continuing, "Or worse, he'll date me and then dump me when a better premade comes along, and I can't go through that pain…not again," she finishes softly._

_Brent turns to Kea, placing an arm around her, "That's not going to happen," he says into the growing silence between them._

_Kea sighs, listening to the sound of the gentle breeze blowing through the maple trees above them, "How do you know?"_

_Brent smiles, "Because if Tank even thinks about doing that to you, I'll pound him."_

_Kea turns to Brent and smiles, tears forming in her eyes. "Thanks Brent," she struggles to choke out._

"_No problem," Brent states, before pulling Kea into a side hug._

…

"_Forever?" Isabella repeats, stopping in her tracks, "Well, isn't there a way out?"_

_Kea sighs stopping along with her, "There's only one way to get out of the dreaded college townie cycle, and it's never been done before."_

"_Well what do you have to do?" Isabella asks, her eyes on Kea._

_Kea sighs, "In order to escape the cycle, a premade sim has to ask you to come with them. You know, move in with them when the premade sim grows up into an adult. But who would want to do that when there's so many premades out there? That's why so many of us have already given up. Cause let's face it, we're all just going to be juiced anyway."_

"_Juiced?" Isabella repeats, a look of confusion forming on her face, "Why would you guys be juiced?"_

"_Well, because we're college townies," Kea says turning to Isabella, "We have no families and no future so they take the college townies that have been at the university the longest and make them into juice for the Elixir of Life."_

"_That's terrible!" Isabella exclaims, turning towards Kea, "That isn't fair!"_

"_I know, but there's nothing we can do about it," Kea says her eyes to the ground, "That's just the way things are around here. All of us are only a few steps away from being juiced."_

_Isabella stops walking and holds onto her books tighter, thinking to herself. A small smile forms on her face as she turns to her new friend._

"_Well not you," Isabella responds. _

_Kea walks over to Isabella, a look of confusion forming on her face, "What are you talking about?" Kea asks._

"_You're not going to be juiced, because I'm going to get you out of here."_

"_Psh yeah right," Kea says turning away from her, "You know how many times I've heard that one before. A premade sim will say that they're going to come for a college townie and they never do."_

"_But you're not talking to just another premade sim, you're talking to me!" Isabella exclaims turning towards her friend, "Come on Kea, you were nice enough to help me, so why don't I help you?" Isabella asks, now only a few meters away from the art building._

_Kea looks at Isabella, trying to find some sign of deception in her face, but finds none. "Well…" Kea starts._

"_Kea, I promise you that when I graduate, you're coming with me," Isabella says holding out her hand, "Okay?"_

_Kea sighs and looks down at Isabella's hand. Kea lifts up her right hand in hesitation before placing it in Isabella's. They shake hands._

"_Okay," she replies, "After all, what do I have left to lose…?"_

"_"Stay away from sims like them Kea," her entire neighborhood choruses, "They are no good…"_

_Good…_

_Good…_

_Tank and Kea are standing near the entrance of Cassandra's dormitory with nothing but empty chairs and desks surrounding them. After a short moment of silence, Tank finally opens his mouth to speak, "Kea, I'm really sorry about what happened yesterday."_

"_Oh Tank," Kea replies; brushing it off, "Let's just forget about it, it's not that big of a deal."_

_Tank shakes his head, trying to remain understanding, "Yes, it is," he says, "I completely overreacted and it's all my fault. I should have never taken it out on your nameplate," Tank states, pulling out the newly repaired golden bracelet from out of his pocket. "Here," he states, holding out the bracelet to its rightful owner._

_Kea looks at the object in Tank's hand strangely, "What's this?" she asks him._

"_Your bracelet," Tank says as he clasps it around Kea's right wrist, "I fixed it. It look me all day, but it's good as new now, I promise," Tank watches as Kea turns her wrist around to check out her golden bracelet, noticing her expression becoming a little happier. Tank smiles and gently grabs Kea's hands, "I love you Kea."_

_Kea…_

_Kea…_

Kea quickly lifts her head up, jolting herself awake. Kea gazes around still finding herself in the middle of Isabella's bedroom. After a few moments, Isabella turns around to see if Kea is still there. To her surprise, she is greeted by a warm embrace from her friend. Kea bursts into tears and begins to cry, causing Isabella to cry along with her, returning the hug.

"I'm so sorry! I should've never said those things!" Kea exclaims, tears pouring out from her eyes.

"No, I'm sorry!" Isabella calls out, tears flowing from her eyes as well, "I should've never tried to interfere with your love life!"

Kea and Isabella slowly pull away from one another to look each other in the eyes. "You're my best friend!" Kea cries out.

"You're my best friend too!" Isabella says back.

"Let's never fight again!" Kea exclaims once more.

Isabella, now on the verge of a second waterfall of tears slowly nods, responding a weak, "O-kay."

Kea and Isabella both cry out and break into tears again; Ripp walks by the room and stops to gaze at them through the open doorway. He shrugs and rolls his eyes.

"Psh, girls."


	17. Sophomore Year: Fallen

_Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt_

_Chapter Sixteen_

_Sophomore Year: Fallen_

_Isabella is standing in the middle of a deserted field, surrounded by nothing but darkness. Terrified, Isabella begins to frantically scan the area for any sign of human life; she clenches her arms in distress, "Hello? Is anybody there?" she states, still scanning the area surrounding her, "Could somebody please help me? Please, I'm scared."_

_Lightning strikes the sky, followed by a monstrous clap of thunder. Isabella jumps back, the sound of the thunder ringing throughout her entire body. Lightning strikes again, this time swirling around her before the luminous yellow strands encircle in front of Isabella seemingly forming a figure. "You have changed Isabella."_

_Isabella suddenly looks up from the ground, finding none other than her older brother standing in front of her. "Brent?" she says, taking a step forward in curiosity, "Is that really you?" _

_Brent continues to stare straight at her, barely moving a muscle, "College has changed you Isabella, I don't even know you anymore," he states monotonously. _

"_Brent, what are you talking about?" Isabella questions, "I'm exactly the same person that I was before. I haven't changed at all, I'm still your sister and I always will be."_

_Brent begins to approach his sister, a cold, stern glare still plastered on his face, only growing with each step he takes. Isabella steps back, her right foot knocking against the side of the level ground. Isabella turns around, terrified to find herself now at the edge of a cliff. Isabella turns towards the misshaped monster, "Brent stop! I'm your sister!"_

_Brent stops in his tracks, with Isabella now only a few inches from the edge of the cliff. He looks up at her and extends out his arms, "I have no sister," Brent states, before pushing Isabella off the edge. Isabella shrieks as she feels herself falling…_

_ falling…_

_ falling…_

"AHHHHHHH!" Isabella shrieks as she falls out of her bed and onto her pink carpeted bedroom floor; Ripp bursts through the door.

"Izzy! Are you okay?" Ripp exclaims, crouching down to the young girl that is hunched over on the floor, "I heard you scream!"

Isabella slowly lifts her head up from the carpet, placing her hand on her sweaty forehead trying to keep her world from spinning any more than usual, "I'm fine," she says, sitting up on the floor next to him, "I just had a nightmare and…fell," Isabella sighs, "I didn't wake you up, did I?"

Ripp smiles and nods, "Yeah, but it's okay, I'm kind of a light sleeper." Isabella nods; silence fills the room.

"Ripp?"

Ripp looks up from playing with the floral carpet, "Yes?"

"You would never push me off of a cliff right?" Isabella says suddenly; Ripp moves back, surprised somewhat that she would ask such a question.

Ripp smiles before nodding once more, "Yes, I would never push you off of a cliff. I'm guessing this had something to do with your dream last night-?" A big clap of thunder sounds, as the pouring rain hits the window even harder. In no time Ripp finds Isabella cowering in his arms.

"I-I hate thunder," Isabella says, trying to steady her voice from shaking, "I've been scared of it ever since I was a little girl."

Thunder cracks again, causing Isabella to give a small 'eep' before clenching onto Ripp even harder. He looks down at Isabella and sighs, giving a small smile, "So I guess this means I won't get to sleep tonight huh?"

Isabella looks up at glare at Ripp, she pushes him playfully on the arm, "Is that all you think about?"

Ripp sighs and stands up from off of the floor, extending out a hand to Isabella in the process, "Okay, come on," he states, gazing down at her.

"Where are we going?" Isabella asks intrigued.

"To my room," Ripp completes, turning to open up the door situated behind him.

Isabella gives Ripp a look of confusion, "Why?"

"Because we're going to sleep together so we can both get a good night's sleep," Ripp responds, bending over to try and pick Isabella up from the ground. He lifts her up bridal style and walks slowly towards the door, "Wow, I must say, you're a lot heavier than you look Izzy."

Isabella glares at him, "Keep it up Ripp," she states, before giving him a small smile, "You're lucky you're so cute."

Ripp stops at his bedroom door and states "I know," as he enters into the room in front of them.

_Three Hours Later_

Isabella groans as she flops herself over on the bed to gaze at the clock which reads 4:15 a.m. on it. She tries to shift herself into a more comfortable position, but the position of Ripp's arms around her are making it extremely difficult. Isabella pokes the side of Ripp's face, "Ripp!" she whispers softly, "Ripp honey, wake up!"

Ripp sighs, shifting slightly on the bed, "Yes Mr. President, I will have bacon with that," he says before giving a snore and returning to dreamland.

A look of confusion forms on Isabella's face. She shakes her head and rests it once more against his back. She awakes a few minutes later to the feeling of drool on her face.

"Eww," Isabella states, quietly wiping the reminisce of Ripp's drool from the left side of her face. She turns to her sleeping boyfriend, "I'm sorry, I do love you Ripp, but I just can't sleep in these conditions," Isabella states as she slowly gets up from off of the bed. She stops to give him a small kiss on the forehead before exiting the proximity of his room.

_A Few Minutes Later: In the Living Room_

Isabella sighs as she curls up on the brown leather couch, wrapping a warm scarlet blanket around herself. She groans as she covers her ears with her hands, trying to drown out the sound of the cracking thunder coming from outside the windows.

"It's alright," Isabella quietly tells herself, "I'm sure everyone has nights like this. It will be over before you know it…I hope."

"Izzy?" a voice states from across the room, Isabella smiles softly when Tank enters the room, stopping in front of her.

"Hey," Isabella says into the surprising silence, "What are you doing up?"

Tank sighs and sits on the other end of the couch next to Isabella, "I couldn't sleep," he states.

Isabella turns towards him, sitting up on the couch, "Oh," she says, "Did you have a nightmare too?"

Tank shakes his head, "No," he replies, "I haven't been able to sleep since my date with Kea went sour," Isabella looks down at the ground in sorrow, as Tank lets out a heavy sigh, "Everyone thinks I should just give up, but I don't think I can. It's not a hopeless cause. I'm not crazy, it could happen…right?"

Isabella sits there, unaware that Tank is waiting for an answer, she quickly looks up to face him, "Yeah," she responds, slowly nodding, struggling to stay conscious, "It could happen. No, it will happen," she turns and makes eye contact with Tank, "You've gone too far to quit now."

"Isabella?" a familiar voice states from the doorway, both Tank and Isabella find themselves in a state of shock when Brent walks into the room, carrying a glass of juice in his right hand. He stops in front of his little sister and smiles, "I thought you might be up. You always were afraid of thunder. Here, I brought you some juice."

Isabella smiles as she takes the glass of fruit punch from Brent, "Thanks," she replies, happy to be talking to her brother again.

Tank clears his throat and stands up from his seat on the couch, "Well, I guess I should probably be heading back to my room now," he says, stopping at the doorway to finish his thought, "Thanks for the talk Izzy, I think we both needed it."

"No problem," Isabella says with a smile, causing Brent to give her a look of suspicion.

Brent turns toward his little sister, his arms crossed in front of him at the departure of Tank, "Alright, what's going on between you and Tank?"

"What?" Isabella says as she takes another sip of her juice before placing it down on the coffee table in front of her, "What do you mean by that?"

"You know exactly what I mean by that!" Brent exclaims crouching down next to her to point an accusing finger in Isabella's face, "Just how many Grunts are you dating? Are you dating the shrimpy blonde one too?"

Isabella swats Brent's finger away as she gives him the 'are you completely out of your mind' look. "What are you doing up?" she asks.

Brent sighs, putting away his finger as he plops down on the brown leather couch next to her, "I could ask you the same question."

Isabella glares at him, giving Brent a smirk, "You know why I'm up, now why are you awake?"

Brent smiles, "I couldn't sleep," he sighs like he was in some sort of dreamy state, "Something amazing happened last night."

Isabella scouts closer to him, intrigued by his words, "What?" she asks, reaching for another sip of her red fruit juice.

Brent beams, quickly scanning the room for any unwanted listeners, "I slept with Breanna."

Isabella spits out her drink; red fruit punch sprinkles onto the carpet beneath them, "You what?" Isabella exclaims, having a hard time controlling her voice, "Wait, do you mean you slept _with _Breanna or that you "slept" with Breanna?"

Brent smiles and inches a little closer to his sister, "Let's just say I gained two memories last night."

Isabella spits out her drink again, _"Now that can't be good for the carpet," _she thinks as she watches red juice droplets sprinkle onto the white rug once more. She abruptly turns to her smirking older brother seated next to her, "_Brent!_ How could you?"

"Oh come on, don't be such a goody two shoes," Brent states waving his hand in front of her like it was no big deal.

Isabella gives Brent a look of confusion as she gazes down at the shoes on her feet, "But I'm wearing slippers," she says.

Brent sighs and rolls his eyes, "Look, don't freak out about this okay? It's not that big of a deal. Besides, it's not like you'll have to get to know Breanna or anything, I decided yesterday that I'm breaking up with her."

"What?" Isabella says, hardly believing that words that she is hearing.

Brent sighs and gazes at his little sister, "What I mean is, my relationship with Breanna Bertino has run its course, and as a Romance Sim, I must do my fair share of heartbreak and dump her so I can move onto the next one."

"Brent!" Isabella exclaims even louder, jumping out of her seat so that she now towers over him, "How can you say that?"

"What? It's not like last night was all that great anyway," Brent states, standing up so that he's face-to-face with Isabella.

"But you can't do that to Breanna!" Isabella tries to reason with him, "That's so cruel, she deserves better than that!"

Brent crosses his arms, giving his sister a small glare, "Figures you would say that, after all, that's such a Family sim thing to say."

"Brent-" Isabella begins, reaching her arm out. Brent stops her.

"Forget it Isabella, we're two completely different people now, you don't understand anything anymore," Brent states, as he heads towards the stairs.

Isabella calls out after him, "I understand that you're making the biggest mistake of your life! And I'm not going to live my life trying to impress you or anyone else!" Isabella stops, realization spreading throughout her body giving her a surprising feeling of comfort at the words she just spoke, "That's it," she states softly, unaware of her brother's presence at the doorway, "That's exactly what Gramma was talking about, that's exactly what my dream was trying to tell me!"

Isabella races out of the room and heads up the stairs to the roof in the pouring rain, "Isabella, wait!" Brent calls after her.

Isabella reaches the top of the roof, not caring about the cracking thunder surrounding her or the fact that she was completely drenched from head to toe. Isabella races to the center of the flat roof and begins to swirl around seemingly dancing in the rain.

"If I live my life trying to impress others and constantly trying to live up to their expectations, I'll never find happiness with myself and I'll never be satisfied because the life I'll be living won't actually be mine. But if I live my life the absolute best I can and always trust in myself to make my own decisions, there's no telling the things I can accomplish!" Isabella exclaims, as she falls back down on the floor of the roof.

"Isabella!" Brent calls out, rushing over to his little sister who is lying down on the roof drenched from head-to-toe, "Are you completely out of your mind?"

"Yes!" Isabella states, sitting up and grabbing Brent by the shoulders, "And it is the best thing that has ever happened to me!"

Brent gives Isabella a look that is a mix of confusion and concern, "I think being outside in the middle of a thunderstorm is getting to your head."

Isabella turns to Brent, giving him a smirk as she crosses her arms in front of her, "And why do you care so much?"

Brent sighs, "I don't know, I guess it's because-"

"-You're my brother?" Isabella completes, having a hard time keeping a smile from creeping onto her face, "A Romance sim caring about the safety of a Family sim, imagine that."

Brent, now with his eyes to the floor, sighs before gazing back up at Isabella, "You're not just a Family sim, you're my sister," Brent smiles as he watches Isabella's face light up at his words, "And you haven't changed at all…except you're a little bit crazier."

Isabella smiles and hugs her brother, "I knew that was you! I knew you were in there somewhere!"

"Uh Izzy?"

"Yes?" Isabella responds, loosening the grip on her brother.

"You're drenching me," Brent states, trying to shake the water off of his newly drenched shirt sleeves.

Isabella steps back releasing him, "Oh sorry."

"It's okay," Brent responds, gazing up at the rain that is pouring on them, "Now let's get inside before we both get sick."

"That's the second smartest thing I heard all day," Isabella states as both her and Brent head back down the stairs and into the second floor of Cassandra's dormitory.

Brent stops at the doorway and turns to his little sister, "Izzy?"

"Yes?" Isabella responds, stopping at the bottom of the stairs right behind him.

"You were right about the whole 'living your own life' thing," Brent quietly states, his eyes shining, "Who told you that anyway?"

Isabella smiles and looks back at Brent, giving a small laugh before responding, "You did."

Brent moves a step backward, taken by surprise, "I did?"

Isabella nods, "Yep," she replies, "Honestly Brent, did you not pay attention to any of our Freshman Year?"

Brent smiles and shakes his head, "I just can't believe you listened to me."

"Hey you're my brother, someone has to listen to you, might as well be me and not a psychiatrist," Isabella says smiling.

Brent nods, "Good point," he states before holding open the door for Isabella, so that they can both get out of the fallen rain.


	18. Sophomore Year: All That You Are

_Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt_

_Chapter Seventeen_

_Sophomore Year: All That You Are_

The sun is shining brightly peeking through all of the windows in Cassandra's dormitory, lighting up every inch of the room. There, sprawled out on his bed, is none other than Tank Grunt himself, drowning in his own misery. He groans as he throws his left arm clumsily at his alarm clock, ceasing its annoying wake-up ring._ "What's the point of even setting it if there's nothing worth waking up for?"_ Tank thinks to himself as he groggily makes his way to his dresser drawer.

"I'm telling you Izzy, Sim City 4 is WAY scarier than Sim City 3, and that's before you add the terrible graphics!" a familiar voice sounds from the other side of the wall. Tank presses his ear against the wall. "Kea?" he mouths, as he finds himself heading towards the doorway. He stops in time to see Kea wave goodbye to Isabella.

"Okay, I'll see you later! I promised Curtis I would meet him at the Gym in an hour," Kea says to her red-haired friend with a surprisingly cheery tone; she lowers her voice to a whisper, "I better hurry, he says if we get there early enough, he's going to show me his biceps!" Kea squeals; Tank's face falls.

"Gee, that's great Kea," Isabella responds, having a hard time hiding the distress on her face, "I'm glad to see you moved on."

Kea gives Isabella a look of confusion, "Moved on from what?" sensing something or someone Kea turns around, causing Tank to duck even further behind the door. Kea shrugs, "Well I better get out of here before I run into Mr. Clingy-pants. Bye Izzy!"

Isabella weakly lifts up her hand to wave before replying a small, "Bye."

Tank, completely swirling with mixed emotions, slams the door shut behind him. He slides down to the floor beneath him; his hands to his face, having a hard time catching his breath between sobs. Tank brings his hands away from his face and gazes at the unusual compound on his fingertips. "What is this wet substance?" he asks himself, "No, it can't be…I'm crying? Is that even possible?" Tank groans as he allows himself to fall on his side, "Oh who am I kidding? Kea doesn't like me and she never will. I might as well as just give up now and find some loser crooked-nose townie to date and have children with," Tank shivers, "Those poor children."

"_Now what kind of talk is that boy?"_ General Buzz's voice rings in Tank's head, _"Giving up is what wimps do and I didn't raise a wimp!"_

"Dad?" Tank speaks to himself, "What are you doing in my head? I thought only deceased sims were allowed to talk to people subconsciously."

"_Never mind that boy!"_ General interrupts loud and clear, _"The point is, if you really want something in life you have to be aggressive and never take no for an answer!"_

"But that's how I scared Kea away in the first place!" Tank tries to reason.

"_And that's why you need to be twice as aggressive to get her back! Remember son, if you annoy someone enough, they'll eventually give in. Besides, you're a million times stronger than that Curtis kid, so go over to that gym and show Kea who's manlier!"_

"I'm pretty sure if I attempt to do that, I'll get kicked out of the gym for the rest of the school year," Tank subconsciously tells his father.

"_Well then do something to win her back! Show them that you're not going down without a fight!" _his father instructs, his voice growing louder and louder inside of his head.

"And you're sure this will work?" Tank questions General Buzz.

"_Eh, it's worth a shot."_

"Alright then I'll do it!" Tank thinks aloud, "Thanks dad."

"_Nuh-uh-uh Tank, only wimps say thank you," _Buzz lectures.

Tank stands up from the floor and replies a quick, "Right," before heading out the door and into the hallway; he stops in front of one of the bedroom doors and pounds on it.

Ripp opens the door, only to find his older brother standing triumphantly in front of him, "Uh, may I help you?"

"Yes," Tank says, grabbing Ripp by the shoulders and looking straight into his eyes, "You're going to help me win Kea's heart. Get Izzy, we're about to come up with the perfect scheme!"

Ripp sweat drops at his brother's new-found determination, "I'm scared."

_Thirty Minutes Later_

Tank, Ripp and Isabella are standing to the side of Pinetree dormitory surrounded by bushes; each of them is holding a piece of paper in their hands. Tank looks down at his before looking up at the other two, "Are you sure this is going to work?" Tank asks Isabella; she shrugs.

"No, but we don't really have much of a choice now do we?" Isabella states as she folds up her piece of paper and sticks it in her front pocket, "Tank, are you sure you want to go through with this? If we mess this up, Kea will probably never talk to you again."

"But if we don't try and take the chance, then I'll never know if the plan would've worked," Tank says, looking over her shoulder for any signs of Kea; he motions his hands, "Now give me the flowers."

Isabella nods as she heads a bunch of roses to Tank, she turns to Ripp, "Okay, you guys hide over there. I'll motion when she steps on the lot," Isabella smiles and turns to Tank, "Good luck."

"Thanks," Tank responds slowly nodding, "I'll need it," he adds to himself.

_Ten Minutes Later:_

Tank and Ripp are still seen hiding behind the shrubs next to Kea's dormitory. Tank sighs as he glances down at his watch. "Gosh, what is taking them so long?"

Ripp sighs at the distressed look on his older brother's face, "Tank?" he says finally, "Can I ask you something?"

Tank turns, his eyes still focused on the entrance of the dormitory, "What is it?" he asks Ripp.

Ripp glances at Tank for a moment before continuing, "I was just wondering, you were so quick to give up on Diane and Tiffany, how come you never gave up on Kea?"

Tank freezes, completely drifting his gaze from the front porch, seeming as though he was contemplating this as well; he sighs, still starring into space, "It's simple Ripp…I love her."

Ripp stops to stare at his brother in disbelief of what he just heard, "_Tank loves someone? Tank feels some emotion other than anger and jealousy? That's impossible! You better not blow this Ripp; this may be Tank's only chance to become a normal, civil human being…-_Crap."

Tank abruptly turns around, "Did you say something?" he asks his brother.

"No!" Ripp quickly responds, "I was just uh wondering, what's taking Kea so long?"

Tank shakes his head, bringing the flowers even closer to his chest, "I have no idea," Tank sighs, "Gosh, I hope this works."

Ripp smiles and turns to his brother, "Don't worry, I know everything about relationships - Kea will love the flowers! And with a ten percent chance of a positive outcome as a result of this crazy scheme, you guys will be dating in no time!"

Tank stops to glare at Ripp, "For once, I hope you're right," Tank's eyes widen as a familiar blonde haired silver eyed girl walks onto the lot, "Crap! Here she comes!"

Kea and Curtis walk up to the front porch of Pinetree dormitory holding hands. Kea stops in front of the entrance and begins to dig through her purse, "Darn it! Why do they make our room keys so small? It's like I have to search for a needle in a haystack every time I want to open the door!"

Curtis smiles and grabs Kea's other arm, moving it away from her purse. "Forget about the key Kea, I have something to give you."

Kea throws her arms up in the air, making her golden bracelet bounce against her right arm in excitement, "Oh boy! Is it a present? I love presents! Is it bacon?" Kea talks about a mile a minute; Curtis sweat drops.

"Uh, no. It's not bacon," Curtis slowly answers, taking a step closer to her, "It's something else, something I've wanted to do for a while-"

Tank gasps as he sees Curtis lean closer and closer towards Kea, "NOOOOOOO!" he screams, racing towards the two of them. Upon seeing him, Curtis backs away as Tank tackles Kea, knocking her to the floor.

"Tank!" Kea squeaks extremely startled and freaked out by the fact that he was positioned on top of her, "What the heck is wrong with you?"

Tank jumps up from the ground and points accusingly at Curtis, "He was going to kiss you!"

Kea stands up as well, before crossing her arms in front of her body, "And what's wrong with that?"

Tank finds himself nervously glancing between a deeply confused Curtis and a glaring mad Kea, "Uh, I love you Kea."

Nearby, both Ripp and Isabella are watching the scene unfold in front of them. "Wow, this is even better than Friday nights at the State Theatre!" Ripp grabs a fistful of popcorn from the red and white striped container that he is holding and stuffs it into his mouth.

Isabella looks strangely at Ripp and the bag of popcorn he is holding out in front of him, "Where did you get the popcorn from?" she asks.

"From that stand over there," Ripp answers, pointing to a pink and white polka dotted popcorn stand located across the street. Isabella shrugs before taking a fistful of popcorn for herself.

"Oh gosh," Kea states, slapping her face in frustration, but not bothering to move her hand away from her face, "Tank, I know that you love me, but I don't love you. How many times do I have to tell you that you and I are never going to happen?"

Tank turns to Kea on the front porch, still trying to catch his breath, "Why not?"

"Because," Kea starts, finding herself stomping her foot in frustration, "Because you're a nut! You're creepy and you never leave me alone! You do things without thinking-_stupid _things. We can't go anywhere without you beating someone up for reasons that only you can find. So please, do us both a favor and stay away from me..._forever_."

Ripp and Isabella watch as hurt spreads throughout Tank's face. Ripp mouths the words, 'we're dead' to Isabella as they all watch Kea exit the area and head down the street with frowns all around. Curtis puts his hand on Tank's shoulder in condolence. "Geez Tank, I'm sorry. You don't seem like a bad guy to me."

"Thanks," Tank manages to quietly speak, finding it incredibly difficult to talk; he turns to Ripp and Isabella who are still standing to the right of the complex, "Come on guys, let's go."

Ripp and Isabella nod slowly in sorrow as the three of them head down the street and back to Cassandra's dorm. Tank sighs as he throws the roses into a nearby trashcan on the way. After a few moments of feeling as though they were walking down death road, Tank looks up from the ground to gaze at the blue sky where gray clouds are slowly forming, blocking its beauty, "It was a stupid plan anyway," Tank says into the silence, "It never would've worked."

Tank stops walking and stands in the center of the road, watching his brother and Isabella walk further ahead, holding hands in front of him. Tank sighs as he pulls out a piece of what once was part of Kea's nameplate from his pocket and gazes down at it, laying gently in the palm of his hand, "And I was so sure we were meant to be."

"Hey!" someone calls out, causing all three of them to stop in their tracks and gaze at the sim that is racing down the street towards them. Brent stops in front of Isabella, struggling to catch his breath, "Hey guys-"

"Brent!" Isabella exclaims, taking a step closer to her older brother, "What are you doing here?"

"Never mind that," Brent begins, watching as Tank joins the group of three, "We have to hurry! Some jerks are picking on Kea!" They all watch as Tank drops everything and races down the street in a heartbeat; Ripp turns to Brent and glares.

"Gosh Brent, why did you have to say that in front of Tank?" Brent stares strangely at Ripp, giving him a look of confusion, "I'll explain later," Ripp turns to Isabella and shrugs, "Well at least things can't get any worse right?"

"Just come on!" Isabella exclaims grabbing Ripp by the arm as all three of them dash down the street and over to where Tank and Kea are standing.

_Meanwhile: Down the Street_

Kea is walking down the street in a huff, her right hand grasping the strap of her lavender purse tighter with every step she takes. "Honestly, what do I have to do to get that boy to finally leave me alone?" Kea stops abruptly, finding three premades sims blocking her path.

"Hey guys, check it out-good looking garbage!" a guy with black hair wearing a blue and white llama blazer says to his friends on either side of him. He walks over to Kea and lifts her chin up with his hand, "Oh you're going to make great Elixir of Life juice for us cutie."

Kea slaps his hand away and tries to take a step away from him, "Hey! Back off! Leave me alone!"

All three of the premades exchange glances before bursting into laughter; the guy in the blazer steps forward intimidating her, "And what are _you_ going to do if we don't?"

Kea takes several steps backwards, carefully glancing behind with each step she takes, "I'll-I'll beat you up!" Kea exclaims, throwing her purse down to extend her arms out in a threatening Sims-Fu position, "Alright, who wants to be the first to try and mess with Kea 'the Lightning' Kalson?"

"Word of advice girly, only idiots are stupid enough to pick a fight with us. So why don't you do yourself a favor and be the stupid townie that you are and give us what we want?" The three guys start to surround Kea; she circles around in panic, her head spinning in fear and agony as they get closer and closer to her.

"_This is it, it's over. My life is flashing before my very eyes, I'm done for. Goodbye Izzy, goodbye Izzy's boyfriend, goodbye Grandma, goodbye bacon, goodbye other guy whose name I was too lazy to remember. Goodbye Tank, I'll always love you."_

"KEA!"

"Huh?" Kea sits up from the ground, hearing the voice getting louder and louder.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" someone that sounds like Tank calls out, Kea watches astonished as Tank tackles the premades down to the ground.

The guy in the llama blazer shoves Tank off of him as they all get off of the ground, "Hey! What's the big idea buddy? We were just messing with some trash!"

"Hey!" Tank exclaims, his voice filled with irritation, completely unaware of the presence of Ripp, Isabella and Brent coming up behind him, "You can't talk to her like that!"

"Oh yeah?" the muscular jock states, now standing face-to-face with Tank, "Why do you care? She's just a worthless townie; she probably doesn't even like you!"

Tank steps forward, not losing eye-contact with the premade for a second, "I care because she's my friend and you shouldn't talk like that to anyone, whether they're a townie or not! People like you are the reason why townies have a hard time trusting us, and after meeting you three jerks, I don't blame them."

"Kea!" Isabella exclaims as her, Ripp and Brent race over to the fallen girl, "Oh my gosh, are you okay?"

"Yeah," Kea states as she gently pushes them away; not taking her eyes off of Tank who is standing only a small distance away from them.

The muscular guy in the llama blazer turns to his two friends, "Did you hear that boys? It looks like this little premade wants to take a little trip to the hospital!"

Tank crosses his arms, giving them a smug look, "Nah, I would hate to have the staff waste their whole day trying to fix your croaked face!"

"Oh snap!" Ripp says, making a side comment to Brent and Isabella; Tank smiles in his direction.

The head bully steps forward, shaking his head in pity, "Man, I hate to say this, but you're almost as stupid as your face camouflage!"

Nearby Ripp, Isabella and Brent gasp. "Well, he's dead," Ripp states.

Tank snarls, both of his hands forming into fists, "Nobody makes fun of MY face camo!" Tank shouts as he tackles the head bully to the ground, resulting in an all-out fist fight.

Ripp, Isabella, and Brent race over to where the gray fight cloud is forming, "Whoo! Go Tank!" Ripp cheers, turning to the other two in the process, "Wow, I never thought I would say those words."

Tank smirks as he kicks the other guy to the floor, winning the fight. Tank brushes off his hands before turning to the three retreating premades, "Yeah! You better run! You just got beaten by Tank Grunt! IN YOUR BIG STUPID MONKEY FACE!"

"Uh, Tank?" Ripp says walking up to him, "I think they're gone."

Tank snaps his fingers, completely unaware that Kea is heading straight towards him, "Darn, I really wanted to get that in writing!"

"Uh, speaking of going," Isabella says, poking Ripp in the side of the arm, "I think we should go."

Ripp gives Isabella a look of confusion, "Why?" he questions, Isabella nudges Ripp again and motions to where Kea is standing. "Oh," Ripp says, leaning closer to Isabella to whisper in her left ear, "I get it." Ripp turns to Brent, "We should all go inside now. See you later Tank!"

Tank watches strangely as Ripp, Isabella and Brent race into Cassandra's dormitory, which is surprisingly close to where he is standing.

_Meanwhile: Inside of the Lounge_

Inside Ripp, Isabella and Brent are giving each other high-fives in front of the lounge room window. Ripp turns to Isabella, "Wow Isabella, I can't believe it! Your plan worked!"

"Uh yeah," Isabella replies, crumpling up the piece of paper and throwing it in a trashcan behind her back, "Just like I planned."

Ripp shakes his head, hardly believing the events that just occurred, "Who would've guessed that Tank's aggressiveness would ultimately help get him the girl of his dreams."

Brent stares at them with wide eyes, the realization hitting him, "Okay, now I'm scared."

Isabella smiles, coming up behind the two of them to place a reassuring hand on each of their shoulders, "It's okay guys, the important thing is, Tank is happy."

Ripp smiles and laughs, still shaking his head in disbelief, "Wow, I never thought I would be happy about that," Ripp turns back towards the window, a moving Kea catching his eye, "Hey! Something's happening outside!" The three of them crowd around the window as Ripp turns to them, "Oh this is going to be good!"

_Meanwhile: Outside of Cassandra's Dormitory_

Tank is standing in the center of the lawn, shaking his head in utter disbelief, "I still got it!" he says to no one in particular, _"Now if that could only help me get a girlfriend…"_

"Tank?" Tank turns around only to find Kea walking slowly towards him, with a rather sad expression on her face; she stops in front of him.

Time slowly passes by as both Tank and Kea stand there, starring at each other. Both unsure of what to think or what to say to one another, finally, Kea opens her mouth, having a hard time finding the right words to say, "Tank," she begins, her eyes beginning to water and her voice starting to crack, "I-"

All of a sudden, Kea bursts in tears and embraces him, crying into Tank's chest. Tank flinches, a little startled, before smiling and wrapping his arms around Kea, holding her close. After a few minutes of sobbing, Kea looks up at him, tears still drowning her eyes, "Tank, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have said those things! I'm such a bit-"

"No, you're not," Tank cuts off, "Don't say that."

Kea looks down at the ground, trying her best to control her sobs. She catches her breath, "Alright, I won't say anything then…"

Tank gives Kea a look of confusion as she gazes up at him, "Kea? What are you doing-?" Tank is shocked when he is cut off by Kea's lips on his own.

Inside, Ripp and Isabella are watching them from the window. Isabella squeals and brings her right fist out in front of her, "Yes! I knew she liked him!"

Ripp nods and turns to her in excitement, "Guess what?"

"What?" Isabella asks.

"We're not dead!" Ripp exclaims, as both of them give each other a high five.

Outside Tank and Kea part; they gaze into each other's eyes both blushing furiously. "Uh…?" Tank begins, only to be cut off by Kea's lips once more. The kiss lasts a little longer this time; Ripp gives Isabella a strange, somewhat disgusted look as they watch it turn into a rather hot make out session.

Ripp steps away from the window and turns to Isabella, "Okay, I change my mind. I don't know anything about relationships."

"Yeah…" Isabella states, still standing behind him with her right hand on her hip; she turns to her boyfriend smiling, "Wanna go eat chocolate?"

Ripp smiles and nods, "Okay," he answers as the two of them turn around and disappear into the kitchen.

Oh what a year.


	19. Junior Year: Total Chaos

_Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt_

_Chapter Eighteen_

_Junior Year: Total Chaos_

"…And that is why most Sims think that today's art was made by chimpanzees," Isabella says aloud, as she finishes typing the last sentence of her paper on the computer; she breathes a sigh of relief as she leans back in her chair, "There! After three hours, I'm finally done with my rough draft."

"Gee, that's great Izzy," Ripp speaks up from his book, sitting on her bed, "Maybe we'll actually get three hours of sleep tonight."

Isabella laughs and turns to her boyfriend, "I wouldn't count on it, I still have to read for my anatomy class. Speaking of which, I should probably use the bathroom," Isabella states as she exits her room and heads down the hallway. When she returns, she notices Kea coming out of the bedroom two doors down from her own.

"Kea?" Isabella says, somewhat startled at her friend's appearance this early in the morning, "What are you doing here?"

Upon seeing her, Kea jumps back startled as well before turning to Isabella, "Umm, learning?" Kea responds smiling innocently.

Isabella gives her a look of confusion, "At four in the morning?"

"Oh yeah well, what are you doing here?" Kea counters accusingly, her hands on her hips in determination.

Isabella crosses her arms, raising an eyebrow, "I live here," she states.

"Right, and how sure are you on that?" Kea pauses, noticing that Isabella is now has a look of doubt on her face, "And furthermore…look! The Lost City of Atlantis!"

"What?" Isabella says, turning around as Kea takes off down the hall. Isabella groans, "Aww man, I have got to quit falling for that!"

All of a sudden Tank steps out of his bedroom three feet in front of Isabella, his back turned to her. "Hey Kea, you forgot your-" Tank turns around finding himself making awkward eye contact with Isabella; she raises an eyebrow in suspicion. "I mean, uh…nothing-bye Izzy!" Tank quickly states before slamming his bedroom door shut.

Isabella stands in the center of the hallway in silence. She smiles and shakes her head, "I should've known."

_The Following Morning:_

Ripp is sitting on the brown leather couch in the lounge reading the latest issue of _Life in Pleasantview_. "Wow, that maid sure does get around," Ripp states before flipping the page and moving on to the next article.

"I'll miss you," a voice states from the doorway, Ripp looks up only to find Tank and Kea facing one another holding hands, standing dangerously close.

"I'll miss you too," Kea says back, still holding onto both her boyfriend's hands. Ripp groans, trying to use the magazine to block his view.

"Not as much as I'll miss you," Tank continues, causing Kea to giggle and Ripp to groan again in annoyance.

"We'll just see about that cupcake," Kea states giving Tank a few kisses before departing, "See you later Sweetie!"

Ripp groans again as he turns to Isabella who is taking a seat down next to him, "Cupcake? Sweetie? Please tell me we weren't like that when we started dating."

Isabella smiles before boldly responding, "We were not like that when we started dating."

"Ugh!" Ripp calls out, slapping his face with the magazine in frustration, "I don't know if I can take much more of this. I mean if it was any person other Tank, this probably wouldn't disgust me. But since it is, this is utterly disgusting."

Isabella turns to him, "Oh come on Ripp, it can't be that bad. Besides, you should be happy for Tank, this is the first time he's ever been in a relationship! This must be exciting for him."

"Yeah well, it's irritating for me. Honestly Izzy, their cutesy-ness is starting to get out-of-hand."

Isabella crosses her arms, "I'm sure it's nothing out of the ordinary. After all they've only been dating for a few months!" Ripp raises an eyebrow in doubt, "Anyway, this is probably just a phase. I'm sure they'll grow tired of it sooner or later."

_Three Weeks Later:_

Isabella is walking down the hallway towards her bedroom; she stops when she notices Tank and Kea standing in front of it holding hands. "I love you!" Kea says squeezing Tank's hand tighter, completely oblivious to Isabella's presence only a few feet away.

"I love you more!" Tank exclaims, not taking his eyes off of her.

"No, I love you more!" Kea squeals, causing Isabella to slowly walk up behind them.

"Uh, guys?" Isabella begins, trying to walk around them, "Do you mind moving so I can get to my-?" Isabella jumps back as Tank and Kea start making out in front of her bedroom door; she sweat drops, "Okay, Ripp was right. This is beginning to be too much."

Isabella quickly turns away and heads down the opposite end of the hallway, she stops when she notices Brent walking into his bedroom carrying a shiny silver bag. Intrigued, Isabella stands in the doorway behind him. "Hey Brent, whatcha up to?" Isabella greets, causing Brent to frantically turn around in panic.

"Izzy! What are you doing here? You scared the crap out of me!" Brent exclaims, dropping the bag to the floor with a thud.

"Sorry," Isabella says before walking further into the room, "What's in the bag?"

"Oh, just some stuff I need for this year," Brent replies, quickly stuffing the bag under his bed, "It's nothing much really. Hey, did you talk to dad last night?"

Isabella shakes her head, "No, I haven't talked to him since last summer," she sighs before plopping down on the foot of Brent's bed, "I've been afraid to face him since I changed aspirations and became a Family Sim."

"You know you're going to have to tell him sooner or later," Brent replies, taking a seat down next to her. He sighs before gazing at his little sister, "Better you than someone else. Still, you know dad is going to freak when he finds out that you switched aspirations."

Isabella stands up and turns to Brent, "He's not going to freak because no one's going to tell him!" she exclaims.

Brent stands up beside her smirking, "Right and how are you going to avoid that little topic of discussion when we go home for dinner next week?"

A look of confusion washes over Isabella's face, "Wait, what?"

"Didn't mom tell you?" Brent begins, "She wants us to come home for dinner on Friday."

Isabella smiles, turning to her brother, "Sounds good to me."

"…And she wants us to bring our dates," Brent completes. Isabella stands there frozen in place, her heart racing a mile a minute as she struggles to keep her world from spinning.

"Our dates?" Isabella weakly repeats; it was all coming back to her now…

_Isabella is standing in her living room talking to her unreasonable father. "Come on dad, just give him a chance, he'll be here any minute!"_

_"And when will that be?" Alban responds firmly._

_"Uhh…" Isabella shudders._

_All of a sudden knocks are heard at the window followed by a loud, "ISABELLA!" Alban storms over to the source of the noise and swings open the window, finding Ripp with a pile of rocks in his left hand._

_"Hey you," Alban confronts, "Stay away from my daughter!"_

_"Dad!" Isabella calls out racing over the door, letting them in. "Be nice."_

_"So," Alban states walking over to the two boys who are standing in the living room, he turns to Tank placing his hand on his shoulder, "You must be Ripp."_

_"Uhh, no," Ripp replies from behind Tank, "I'm Ripp." He lifts his right hand up and nervously smiles._

_Alban glares at him, "Of course," he responds, "It had to be the rock throwing boy."_

_Isabella nervously laughs and steps between her father and Ripp, unaware of Tank's sudden absence, "So dad, what do you think?"_

_Alban stares at him blankly before facing his daughter, "He looks like a girl."_

_"Hey!" Ripp responds offended._

…

_"I'm really sorry about my brother's behavior," Ripp responds, "This won't happen again."_

_"You're darn right it won't happen again," Alban replies storming over to them, "Because you're never allowed to see my daughter again-EVER!"_

Isabella continues to stare off into space, causing Brent to gently nudge her on the shoulder. "Isabella, are you okay?" Brent asks.

Isabella swallows hard before shaking the bad memories from her mind, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just have to get something from my room," Isabella states heading towards the entrance of the hallway.

"Uh, Isabella?" Brent begins, extending his hand out to try and stop her. Isabella groans when she sees Tank and Kea still making out against her bedroom door.

She slaps her face in frustration, "Okay, this _has_ to stop."

Isabella races out the door and into the hallway, "Kea! Kea Kalson! Stop making out this instant!" Brent smiles and shakes his head as he hears Isabella call out down the hall.

Brent quietly shuts the door behind her and begins to look around the room, "Now where did I put that-?" Brent stops circling when he spots the silver bag shining from underneath his bed, "Ah, there it is!" Brent reaches into the bag and pulls out a velvet book, "Now I just have to find the right time to give this to Breanna."

_Meanwhile: Down the Hall_

"Honestly Isabella, I don't know what your problem is!" Kea exclaims, still blocking her bedroom door, "First you want me to be with him, then you promised that you'd stay out of my love life, then you came up with a plan and got us together, and now you don't want me to be with him. Come on Izzy! Make up your mind!"

Isabella crosses her arms in frustration, completely unaware that Tank has taken off into the kitchen, "I didn't have a problem with you two dating until you guys started making out in front of my bedroom!"

Kea turns away from her friend, a look of innocence on her face, "Well, It's not my fault he was being pushy."

Isabella sighs and turns to Kea, "Look, can you please just stop making out in front of my bedroom?"

Kea sighs in defeat, "Fine," she replies, reaching into her purse and pulling out a package, "But I'm keeping the bacon!" she states before devouring the rest of it.

Isabella shakes her hand in confusion, "I'm not even going to ask."

"Hey guys!" a brown haired girl with a ponytail wearing a dark blue sweater and tight blue jeans greets as she enters into the hallway.

"Oh hey Lyndsey," Isabella greets back, "I haven't seen you in awhile. How have you been?"

"Pretty good, life on the second floor has been pretty quiet since Brent and Breanna broke up. But you'll never guess what I just heard."

"What did you hear girly?" Kea responds behind Lyndsey, taking another bite of her bacon strip. Lyndsey gives her a look of confusion, "What? You're not a girl?"

Lyndsey shakes her head before turning back to Isabella, "Anyway, apparently someone is going to propose in Cassandra's dorm. Isn't this exciting?"

"Wait propose? You mean like a marriage proposal?" Isabella asks Lyndsey, she nods, "But the only three guys that have girlfriends are…uh oh."

"Word on the street is it's your brother," Lyndsey responds, "After all, every time one of us sees him come back from some place on campus he always has a few mysterious bags in his hands. But who knows, maybe it's just part of a psychology project or something. Either way, someone's bound to pop the question sometime this year."

Isabella gulps, staring straight into the beige wall in front of her, "That's what I'm afraid of."

Kea turns to her, watching Lyndsey leave the area behind them, "So, your brother is going to propose? Well that would explain a lot of things."

Isabella turns to Kea, her arms extended out in frustration, "But that doesn't make any sense! He broke up with Breanna last year and he's extremely afraid of commitment! Why would he propose? Besides, how do we even know that what Lyndsey said is true? It could just be a silly rumor that someone started!"

"True or not, you have to admit Brent's been acting very strange lately," Kea reasons, "Something must be up. I say we spy on him and find out where he's getting those bags from. If we catch him in the act of buying the ring then we know it's true."

"What?" Isabella exclaims, "Kea, are you crazy?" Kea opens her mouth to speak but Isabella stops her, "Don't answer that. We can't just follow my brother around and go on some kind of secret spy mission."

Kea's face lights up, "Come on Izzy, it'll be fun! It'll be just like when Ripp, Brent and I ruined your date with Tank! Only this time, we won't ruin anything."

"I don't know-" Isabella begins in hesitance.

"Come on Isabella, go on a secret spy mission with Kea 'the Lighting' Kalson, we can use pink binoculars!" Kea reaches into her lavender purse and pulls out a pair of hot pink binoculars, she moves them in front of Isabella's face smiling.

Isabella looks at Kea and smiles, "Alright fine, I'm in!" she exclaims, taking the binoculars from Kea's left hand, "Let's do it!" Isabella exclaims as she puts them into her book bag. She sighs and turns to her friend, "But first you have to help me with something."

"Anything, just name it," Kea responds, a little concerned by the seriousness of her tone.

"How do I tell Ripp that my parents want us to come over for dinner on Friday? And that my dad wants to meet him?"

Kea's face falls, "I don't know," she replies, before gazing back up to give Isabella a smile, "But that doesn't mean I can't help."

"So you'll go to the dinner with us?" Isabella asks, suddenly feeling as if the weight of the world was lifted off of her shoulders.

"I really wish I could, but I can't," Kea replies taking yet another bite of her bacon strip, "I'm going out with Tank on Friday."

Isabella looks down at the ground before letting out a disappointed, "Oh. That's too bad, something tells me my parents would've really liked you."

"Yeah, I am amazing," Kea begins, "But don't worry, I'll still help you mess it up, or uh, make it better, whichever one you prefer."

Isabella smiles, "Sounds great, so what's the plan…?"


	20. Junior Year: Someday You'll Understand

_Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt_

_Chapter Nineteen_

_Junior Year: Someday You'll Understand_

Isabella and Kea are seen standing around Isabella's bed staring at the various spy equipment spread across its sheets. Kea watches as Isabella packs the last pair of hot pink binoculars into her black backpack. She turns to Kea as she zips it up, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"It doesn't matter if it's a good idea or not," Kea begins taking another bite of her beef jerky piece, "You've already zipped up the backpack," Kea moves closer to Isabella, lowering her voice to match her dark and scary facial expression, "There is no turning back now. Bwahahaha!"

Isabella stares at her concerned, "Okay, you have got to stop doing that."

"Now what fun would that be?" Kea states, causing Isabella to give her one of her signature glares, "What?"

Isabella sighs as she grabs the backpack from off of the bed and puts it on behind her, "Let's just get out there before people start to suspect something. Brent's class will be over in twenty minutes."

"Wait!" Kea exclaims as Isabella turns to leave the room; Isabella stops and turns around to face her, "Uh, I just remembered I have something really important to do before we leave!"

Isabella raises an eyebrow, _"Oh this'll be good."_

_Meanwhile: Next Door_

Ripp is out in the hall locking up his dorm room for the second time that day. He smiles as he places the room key back into his pocket and heads toward the lobby. _"Man, nothing could ruin this day,"_ he thinks to himself, as he rounds the corner near the stairway.

"Drama major?" a stern and familiar voice sounds from the lobby; Ripp quickly steps back, hiding behind the staircase as he watches his military father scold what appears to be Tank, who is out of Ripp's sight situated on the other side of the room, "No son of mine is going to be a drama major!" General Buzz calls out, "I travelled all the way from Strangetown for this? I always thought your brother would be the one to disappoint me, not you. I thought you wanted to follow in my footsteps Tank, I thought you wanted to honor the Grunt family tradition, but I guess all you want to do is shame your ancestors."

Ripp watches as Tank gets up from where he was situated and walks into his view, "Come on dad, it's not like that at all!" he exclaims, attempting to reason with his father, "It's just-I don't want to be a General, I want to be a Celebrity Chef."

Ripp moves his head back from behind the staircase in surprise, _"Tank wants to be a Celebrity Chef?"_ he ponders, taking a step back towards the wall, _"Man, I better get out of here before things get ugly." _Ripp continues to tip toe backwards, completely unaware of the newfound silence as he heads toward the safety of his bedroom, _"Almost there-" _

"Well if it isn't my vastly inferior son," a voice sounds behind him, Ripp shrieks as he quickly turns around coming face-to-face with the very person he was trying so hard to avoid.

"Dad," Ripp states, trying his best to keep his distance and maintain the steadiness of his terrified voice, "What are you doing here?"

"Trash the sweet talk boy," General Buzz begins, glaring at him even harder, "Your brother invited me over. So how have you been disappointing me in the last two years?"

Ripp nervously scans the room, looking for the right words to say, "Uhh…"

"I don't need your sass boy!" General Buzz cuts off, "You never were a bright one, though I'm incredibly surprised that you haven't dropped out by now."

"Right…" Ripp begins, still backing up towards the safety of his bedroom, "Can I go?"

"Not yet," General Buzz answers, "I still have to analyze every aspect of your life and give you every reason why you have failed me as a son-Let's start with physical appearance! Number one, you look like a beaver. Number two, those shoes don't match your pants, number three it's pretty obvious that you don't bathe regularly…"

Ripp rolls his eyes before racing into his bedroom and slamming the door, "Wait boy!" General Buzz shouts following after Ripp, "I'm not done yelling at you yet!" General Buzz sighs as he eyes the closed door in front of him, "I knew we should've stopped at Tank."

General Buzz turns to face his other son who is opening his bedroom door down the hall and walks over to him. He stops to glance at photos taped on Tank's door. His eyes come across one of Tank and some unknown blonde haired silver eyed girl; he points to her, "Who's this girl?"

"Oh, that's Kea," Tank states, stepping halfway into his room, "She's my girlfriend."

"Really," General Buzz contemplates, giving Tank a stern look before continuing, "So, when I do get to meet this girlfriend of yours…?"

_Meanwhile: In the Kitchen_

Kea is seen sitting on one of the purple chairs devouring a giant meat basket that is situated on the black and white checkerboard table in front of her. Isabella is seated across the table, with a disturbed look on her face watching this somewhat odd display unfold in front of her. She leans her elbows on the table to face her friend, "_This_ is the important thing that couldn't wait? _This_ is what you had to do before we go on our possibly life-changing secret spy mission?"

Kea looks up from the meat basket, her face covered in bacon bits. She exhales before responding an obvious, "Yes." Isabella sighs as she slumps down into her chair, bringing her hand up to her face in frustration, "Oh come on Izzy, try to see this through my point of view, haven't you always wanted to eat a five pound slab of bacon in less than five minutes?"

Isabella groans, "I can honestly say-no."

"Well you're no fun," Kea replies, forcing Isabella to glare, "What?"

Isabella sighs once again, but begins to perk up after watching her friend continue to eat the giant meat basket. She smiles, "You know I could never stay mad at you," Isabella says as sits back up in her seat. After a moment, she opens her mouth to speak again, "I don't get it," she begins.

"Don't get what?" Kea asks, chewing her thirtieth piece of bacon that day.

Isabella smiles, glad that she finally obtained her best friend's attention for more than a minute, "I mean, you're a Family Sim, yet you possess the metabolism and bottomless stomach of a Grilled Cheese Sim."

"Psh, don't ask me how genetics work," Kea states as she reaches into the basket to find something else to eat, "Ooh meat sticks!" Kea rips open the packet in front of her and devours the uncooked food. Isabella gives Kea a look of disgust, causing Kea to reply an innocent, "What?"

"You know, you don't have to eat that whole thing in one sitting. I mean, that can't be good for your heart," Isabella speaks.

"My heart is just fine thank-you-very-much," Kea states, ripping open another pack of meat sticks, "Besides, the sooner I finish this package, the sooner Tank will buy me another one!"

Isabella gives Kea a look of concern and disbelief, "Right…" She glances up, noticing someone walking into the room, "Speak of the Grim Reaper..."

"Grim Reaper?" Kea exclaims, jumping out of her seat and knocking the table to the floor. She turns and points to General Buzz who is standing right beside Tank, "You'll never take me alive Grim Reaper!" Kea shrieks as she races over to where the cafeteria lady is standing and jumps out the window, completely ignoring the open door three feet away. Her actions leave everyone speechless behind her.

Isabella stands there stiff in confusion and concern; "It was just an expression…" she begins.

Behind Isabella, Tank and General Buzz are standing there in shock, "Was that her?" General Buzz asks after about five minutes of awkward silence.

"Yep," Tank answers, still feeling a mix of mild shock and embarrassment.

"I should've known she was a nut," General Buzz responds, causing Tank to actually turn to face his father.

"Now dad, I know she may seem a little strange, but I can guarantee you that Kea isn't the least bit crazy-"

"Take that Grim Reaper!" Kea states from outside as she begins hitting the mailman repeatedly with a rake, "Never again will you try to get me!"

Tank sweatdrops before turning back to his father, "Uh, you should probably just ignore that," Tank says before racing out the door and heading towards her, "Kea! Kea, stop! He's not the Grim Reaper!"

Upon seeing Tank, Kea drops her rake and smiles, "Tank! Thank goodness you're okay! I thought that military dude got you."

Tank gives Kea a look of confusion before speaking, "What?"

Kea clings onto him when she notices General Buzz approaching them. He stops in front of Tank, pointing to Kea, "So, this is your girlfriend? The meat devouring, mailman hitting, crazy nutcase?"

Kea steps away from Tank and holds her hand out to General Buzz, "Yes, nice to meet you."

General Buzz glances down at Kea's meat juice covered hand in disgust before turning back to his eldest son, "Please tell me this is some sort of joke." Tank shakes his head, causing General Buzz to step even closer to him, "Before I continue, I think you should ask your friend to leave."

Tank signals to Isabella from inside kitchen and nods towards Kea, Isabella races outside and turns to her, "Come on Kea, let's start the mission." Isabella pulls out one of the pairs of hot pink binoculars and hands it to her.

Kea smiles and takes them, "Okay." She waves goodbye to Tank before exiting the lot with Isabella.

With no further distractions, General Buzz turns his full attention back to Tank, "So, let me ask you again, is this some sort of joke?" Tank shakes his head once more, "That is the girl that you seriously want to marry?"

Tank's eyes wander to the ground before looking back up at his father, "Well I never said-"

"Good, because you can do way better than her," General Buzz cuts in, "That's why I think it would be for the best if you break up with her."

Tank steps back startled not believing his ears, "What?"

"If you have any respect for our family and your reputation left, you will break up with her. Kea is not a normal sim Tank, being anything more than a friend with her will just give you problem after problem. You don't want to be with someone as unpredictable as her. Believe me, I know."

Tank slumps his shoulders, finding it harder and harder to look his father in the eyes, "Dad I-I don't know what to say."

"It should be obvious what you should say Tank," General Buzz begins to lecture, "You should say that you will break up with her and you will sustain your honor. You should say that you are sorry that you didn't think if this sooner and that I know what is best for you. You should say that you never wanted to be a drama major or a Celebrity Chef and that you're going to follow in my footsteps and become exactly what you've always wanted to be. You always wanted to be like me. You always wanted to make me proud and you can't do that with that townie girl in the way."

"No."

General Buzz steps forward, "What?"

"I can't do that," Tank states into the silence that is surrounding Cassandra's dorm, "I can't be like you. I don't want to be like you. And I'm sorry dad, but I can't break up with Kea. Someday I hope you'll understand why."

"And I hope you'll understand why I no longer have an eldest son," General Buzz firmly states, trying his best to contain his anger. Tank watches in sadness as his father storms off the lot never to return, completely unaware of the beaming person behind him.

"I'm proud of you Tank," a voice states from behind, Tank turns his head only to find Ripp smiling next to him, a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "You stood up for yourself and Kea. Maybe you're not such a lost cause after all."

Tank turns and faces Ripp, trying to suppress the tears now forming in his eyes. "Uhh…?" Ripp begins only to find himself stepping back in shock as Tank throws his arms around him in a hug. Ripp sighs, finally giving in to the embrace, _"Can this year get any weirder?"_


	21. Junior Year: Secret Spy Mission

_Hey guys! Sorry about the delay in posting new chapters. I was actually participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) for the entire month of November, so I haven't been able to update my fanfictions as much as I wanted to, but hopefully this chapter makes up for the wait. So without further ado, here's chapter twenty! : D_

* * *

_Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt_

_Chapter Twenty_

_Junior Year: Secret Spy Mission_

Isabella and Kea are seen crouched behind a pile of bushes in front of the Sim State University strip mall, their hot pink binoculars pushed through the bushes, barely visible among their forest green leaves. "See anything yet?" Kea asks Isabella as she remains situated next to her.

Isabella shakes her head, "No, this place is deserted," Isabella answers, moving her binoculars to get a closer look of the empty jewelry store, she sighs, "Let's face it, everyone must've gone home by now."

"Not everyone," Kea says, as she reaches her hand out, pointing to a sim that is smustling badly in front of the store.

Isabella slowly puts down her binoculars; a look of disturbance spread across her face, she sighs and shakes her head at the situation, "Ripp just had to ask," Isabella states, causing Kea to turn to her in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Kea asks, placing her hot pink binoculars down for a moment.

"Uh, nothing. Never mind," Isabella responds, shrugging it off before turning her attention back to the situation at hand. "So uh, when do you think Brent will get back from class?"

"Don't ask me, he's your brother," Kea responds, as she turns to move her binoculars once more, she stops when she notices a brown and white colored sign in the distance, "I'm telling you, I don't see Brent anywhere and-ooh! They're having a sale on bacon at Phil's Bacon Stackers!"

Isabella puts down her binoculars and taps her best friend in annoyance, "Focus Kea!"

Kea turns to Isabella, a small blush on her face, "Hehe sorry, but how do you expect me to pay attention when we're surrounded by so many delicious meat retailers?"

Isabella stops to turn to her friend, pondering this for a moment before replying, "Huh, I don't know," she looks up at the empty jewelry store and sighs before trying back to Kea, "Do you want to go eat lunch first?"

Kea's face lights up, "Always!" she exclaims as she springs up from the bushes and makes her way towards the Bacon Shack, with Isabella right behind her.

_Meanwhile: Walking Back to Cassandra's Dormitory_

Ripp Grunt is happily whistling as he strolls down State University Avenue, the crisp November wind a reminder of the cool days to come. _"Wow, it sure is pretty out,"_ Ripp thinks to himself, as he stops at a pedestrian crossing to let a single car pass by, _"If only it could stay this way forever_," Ripp sighs as he crosses the street and rounds the corner to his dormitory,_ "If only." _

"And if you look over here, you'll see Casper Hall," a loud tour guide's voice sounds nearby, "This is where most of your second semester classes will be held," she completes to the crowd, causing Ripp to shake his head in pity.

"_Poor freshman, they don't know what's coming to them,"_ Ripp thinks to himself, as he continues to make this way around the crowd of freshmen. He stops when a familiar green person catches his eye. Ripp turns and taps on the guy's shoulder, "Johnny?" he asks, a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

The boy turns around; Johnny's face lighting up when he sees him, "Ripp! Oh my gosh, is that really you? You look so old."

"Old?" Ripp repeats, having a hard time keeping the smile from creeping onto his face, "Still finding special ways to get your kicks in huh? I see you haven't changed a bit. Besides speak for yourself, you look even more like a squirrel than you did two years ago!" Ripp counters.

"Oh sure, call me a squirrel," Johnny responds, his arms crossed in front of his chest, "It's amazing how mature you've gotten Ripp."

Ripp quickly sticks his tongue out at Johnny before continuing on with the conversation, "So, why are you going on this tour anyway? Don't you already go here?"

"Yeah," Johnny replies, allowing the tour group to go on without him for a moment, "But Ophelia and I are still having problems locating all of the shops on North Campus, we've only been here for a couple months you know."

"Actually I didn't know," Ripp replies, stepping off of the sideway to join his childhood friend in the grass, "The last time I heard from you guys was freshman year and Ophelia was the one who called me!"

"Oh yeah, sorry about that," Johnny says, as he rubs the back of his head in embarrassment, "I meant to call you, but I had no idea what your number was, and I definitely didn't want to call your dad and ask. Especially since he got that robot."

Ripp stares at Johnny, a look of confusion now spread across his face, "Robot?" he repeats.

Johnny nods, "Yeah, didn't you hear? After you and Tank left, I guess your dad suffered from empty nest syndrome with just Buck, so he took up robotics and made a giant Servo," he states, "Her name is Sheba Hugs and she acts just like your dad."

Ripp groans and looks up at the sky, his arms out in helpless, "Someone please help me," he states.

"Yeah…" Johnny continues, unsure of what to say next; he looks to Ripp and sighs, "But hey-the good news is, since Sheba's taken over the house, your dad hasn't been seeing anyone."

Ripp turns to Johnny puzzled, "And he was before?" he asks.

"Apparently so," Johnny responds, a strange look spread across his face, "But since Sheba hates all women, she didn't get very far."

"I don't know whether to be creeped out by this or to just run away in disgust," Ripp says aloud; he shrugs, "Actually, I prefer both," Ripp answers himself, as he runs around in circles, his hands covering his face in utter disgust; he stops in front of Johnny, his arms spread out in frustration, "Oh how can this get any worse? Oh, I know! Let me guess, the robot has a crush on my dad!"

Johnny turns to Ripp, placing a hand on his shoulder in condolence, "No, she's in love with your little brother."

Ripp groans, covering his face up with his hands once more, "Ugh, why is my family so messed up? I mean, I'm a nice person. I don't hate people or give anyone a hard time, why can't I have a normal life?"

Johnny smiles and laughs, "Because…you're Ripp."

Ripp sighs and rolls his eyes, before giving a rather sarcastic, "Thanks," to Johnny. He shakes his head at his clueless friend, _"Oh Johnny Smith."_

_Meanwhile: In Front of Sparklez Jewelry Store_

Isabella and Kea are back crouched behind the pile of bushes in front of the Sim State University strip mall, binoculars in hand. Isabella turns to Kea, her binoculars still situated on her nose, "So, do you see Brent anywhere?" she asks.

Next to her Kea shakes her head, her binoculars aimed at one of the store's shiny displays, "No, I don't see him anywhere but man I found this really funny looking girl!" Kea exclaims; she places down her binoculars, only to find that she is looking at a reflection of herself, "Aww darn it!"

Upon seeing Kea's outburst, Isabella sighs and bringing her hot pink binoculars down as well, "I'm beginning to think that this whole thing was just one really bad idea."

"Oh come on Izzy, we're making progress," Kea says, as she reaches into her lavender purse and pulls out a small bacon-shaped package, "Look! Now I'm down to only five pounds of bacon!"

Isabella stops to turn and give Kea a confused stare, "It's times like these when I miss you eating barf colored Sim O's," she states.

"Yeah well, what are you going to do?" Kea asks, as she places her binoculars back on; a golden bordered sign in Sparklez Jewelry Store's window catching her eye. The sign shows a picture of a beautiful gold-banded, diamond-encrusted engagement ring. Upon seeing this, she puts down her hot pink binoculars and turns to Isabella, nudging her shoulder softly with her elbow. "Hey Izzy, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Isabella replies, noting the sudden seriousness in Kea's voice, "What is it Kea?"

"I was just wondering," Kea begins, stopping to gaze at the sign once more before turning her full attention to her best friend, "Do you think Ripp will ever ask you to marry him?"

"Oh," Isabella says, the unexpectedness of the situation causing a small blush to form on her cheeks, "Well he did once but, I think he was high on the Orb."

Kea turns to Isabella once again, an interesting gaze on her face; she nods, "You have a very strange life," she states.

Isabella looks at Kea and nods, "Believe me, you have no idea."

_Meanwhile: In Casper Hall_

"Now before I end class for today, I wish to discuss one last Career Reward item with you," Professor Watkins states, turning to the gigantic lecture hall filled with students in his Psychology 301 class. Tank and Brent are among them, both situated on opposite ends of the room, as a result of their total disliking of each another.

Professor Watkins walks over to the tarp-covered object on the right side of the room, his student's attention following him as he pulls the tarp off of the object and exposing the new Career Reward for all to see. "This, my dear students, is the Resurrect-O-Nomitron. The single most powerful Career Reward object in the entire Sim World."

A student in the fifth room raises his hand, "What makes it so powerful?" he asks, after receiving Professor Watkins' nod of approval, allowing him to speak.

"I'm glad you asked son," Professor Watkins says, as he places a hand on the Grim Reaper phone, "The Resurrect-O-Nomitron is a powerful device in which a sim can call the Grim Reaper and give money to obtain deceased family members. But be cautious, if one does not give the Grim Reaper enough money, their family member may not return at all or they could be turned into a zombie instead," Professor Watkins states, before turning back to his students. He shakes his head, giving a small laugh in the process, "Things can get quite complicated when you're dealing with death."

The class erupts into talking as Professor Watkins walks to the other side of the room to grab the tarp; Tank raises his hand. Upon seeing this, Professor Watkins throws the tarp over his shoulder and nods in his direction.

"Umm, Professor Watkins? How does one obtain a Resurrect-O-Nomitron?" he asks, the class quieting down to listen to their professor's answer.

"Well Tank in order for one to obtain a Resurrect-O-Nomitron such as this one, a sim would have to get a job in the Paranormal career track and work their way up to quite a high status. Only then can they unlock this item and use it. Of course in order to resurrect someone they would need to have known the person at some point during their lifetime and possess at least ten thousand dollars for it to work successfully."

"Oh…" Tank states, he sighs and looks to the floor. The bell rings.

"Okay class, for Friday's lecture be sure to read Chapter Five and Six in your textbooks!" Professor Watkins attempts to shout over the noise of three hundred students leaving the lecture hall, before exiting out the back door for a moment. In no time, Tank finds himself alone in Casper Hall.

Tank gets up from his seat, eyeing the Resurrect-O-Nomitron that is situated on the platform fifteen feet below. Tank sighs and scans the area before making his way down to the bottom of the lecture hall. His places his navy blue backpack on one of the first row seats and turns to gaze at the glory that is the Resurrect-O-Nomitron.

"_Wow, I can't believe I'm actually standing a few feet away from the Resurrect-O-Nomitron,"_ Tank says in a soft awe as he reaches over to stroke the top of it, _"Just imagine the things I could do with this, the people I could save…Grandma Missy, Great Grandma Mary, Mom…" _Tank pauses at the thought of his mother. Her soft, sweet smiling face filling his mind. Tank sighs and glances around the room once more before slowly picking the telephone up from the receiver of the black, orange-glowing pedestal-shaped phone. He holds the cream-colored telephone out in front of him, his finger slowly reaching to press down the buttons.

He stops himself, his thoughts crying out, _"But wait, how would dad feel about this? Think about it Tank, if you resurrect mom, you, Ripp and Buck may be happy, but all of the drama of the divorce would rise again…and dad would hate you even more,"_ Tank sighs, as he feels his grip slowly loosening around the phone, _"You don't want your father to suffer. Besides, he seems much happier without her. Maybe it's best to just let the dead rest in peace,"_Tank nods as he gently pulls the telephone away from his ear and places it carefully back in its resting place on the pedestal.

Tank walks over to the first row and grabs his backpack. He places it on his back before stopping to gaze at the Resurrect-O-Nomitron one last time. He sighs, having a hard time keeping his head up as he walks up the stairs towards the exit, _"Yes, it's best this way." _

But deep down, all that echoed in his mind as he walked further and further away from it were the words_ 'No, it's not.'_


	22. Back to the Garden

_Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt_

_Chapter Twenty-One_

_Junior Year: Back to the Garden_

Ripp is sitting in the lounge of his dormitory, reading the latest issue of _Life in Pleasantview_; he turns the page and continues to read through the article, "Wow, I didn't know Mortimer Goth was that rich!" he comments aloud.

"Hey Ripp!" a voice sounds from the opposite end of the room.

Ripp turns the page, not bothering to look up from the magazine, "Oh hey Isabella," Ripp greets; the person groans and places her hand on top of the magazine, forcing Ripp to look up at her face, "Hey, wait a minute, you're not Isabella," Ripp states to the brown haired ponytailed girl that was is standing in front of him glaring at him, "Hehe, sorry Lyndsey."

"It's cool," Lyndsey responds, seemingly shaking off the situation with a wave of her right hand; she looks back at Ripp, "Anyway, I was just going to tell you that there is a girl outside that wants to talk to you. I would tell you more, but I think it would just be better if you just went and talked to her right away. Whatever it is, it sounds important."

"Oh okay," Ripp replies, noting the seriousness on Lyndsey's face. He stands up from his seat on the couch and heads out the door, placing the magazine on an end table on the way out. He walks onto the porch and stops to gaze at the person standing in front of him; a sense of familiarity washing over him, "Ophelia?" he states to his friend.

"Ripp?" Ophelia says. Upon seeing him, Ophelia smiles and races over to the steps, "It is you," she states, before continuing, "Where have you been? I haven't seen you in so long!"

Ripp smiles, "I've been here, you know that," Ripp replies before letting out a sigh, "So uh, Lyndsey said you had something important to tell me."

"Oh yeah, _that_," Ophelia responds, her face falling as she looks down at the ground in sorrow, "Let's just say that things haven't gotten better since you left Strangetown."

Ripp steps forward, unable to bear whatever terrible news is about to come next, "What are you talking about? What happened to Strangetown?"

"The Beakers," Ophelia responds, her eyes still glued to the ground, "That's what happened."

"Loki and Circe?" Ripp asks, "What about them?"

"They're slowly taking over the neighborhood Ripp," Ophelia responds, having a hard time looking her friend straight in the face, "They've already taken over their side. The whole neighborhood's in lockdown now, no one can go in or out from the entire North side."

Ripp gives Ophelia a look of confusion, "Wait, I don't understand. Why isn't anyone stopping this?"

"Because everyone's too scared to do anything! Ever since Nervous Subject disappeared from the Beaker's lot no one wants to mess with them!" Ophelia exclaims

"Nervous Subject didn't disappear," Ripp states, "He joined the police force. I convinced him to three summers ago, don't you remember?"

"And you think he actually took your advice, when you weren't even making an attempt to better your own life?" Ophelia shouts back. She stops when she notices the look of hurt spread across Ripp's face, "Oh geez Ripp, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that, I'm just really stressed out about this whole thing."

"It's okay Ophelia," Ripp replies, accepting his friend's apology, "The truth hurts you know? At least it isn't like that anymore," he says, before letting out a frustrated sigh and turning back to look at his friend, "So if the Beakers are slowly taking over the neighborhood, then why don't you just get your aunt to do something? After all, she's the oldest, richest and most powerful resident in the entire neighborhood, I'm sure she would be able to do something to stop them."

Ophelia turns away from Ripp once more, a look of pure misery on her face, "I can't do that," she states softly.

Intrigued, Ripp steps forward, "Why not?"

Ophelia sighs before turning to look at him, "Because, she's dying Ripp. Olive is dying."

Ripp stands there in silence, the last sentence of Ophelia's confession ringing throughout his mind. _"Olive is dying… Olive is dying… Olive is dying." _Ripp looks down at the ground and sighs, having a hard time lifting his head up to gaze back at Ophelia; he turns to place a consoling hand on her left shoulder, "Ophelia, I am so sorry."

"I know," Ophelia states, struggling to hold back the tears that are forming in his eyes; "I am too. But she had a long life; we knew this was going to happen eventually. It's just, why now? Why when everything in Strangetown is falling apart?" Ophelia sighs, "Let's face it Ripp, Strangetown hasn't been the same since your mother died, and neither have you…"

Ripp continues to stand at the base of the sidewalk, the silence slowly drowning him in a pool of misery. After what seems like hours, Ripp finally opens his mouth to speak, unsure of what words to say, "Don't worry about Strangetown, Strangetown will be fine."

"How do you know?" Ophelia asks suddenly.

Ripp sighs, looking up at the cerulean sky, which is now being covered up by dozens of gray puffy storm clouds, "Because, I'm going to go over there and stop the Beakers myself."

"What?" Ophelia exclaims in shock, "Ripp, you can't be serious."

"I have to go back there anyway to say goodbye to your aunt, I might as well try and stop them while I'm there," Ripp answers; he sighs, "Besides, going back to Strangetown would give me a chance to say goodbye to my mother-you know, before Olive passes and the garden goes down. So, are you with me or not?"

"Only a crazy person would risk their life to break into a garden. And even if you did make it past the barbed wire fences, what makes you think you could race all the way down to the South side without getting caught by Loki's army?" Ophelia questions.

"So, I take it that's a no?" Ripp asks his friend; Ophelia nods.

"Sorry Ripp, but as soon as I left that place, I promised myself that I would never go back. It looks like you're on your own," Ophelia says softly into the growing silence.

"It's alright, see you later Ophelia!" Ripp states, before heading back into Cassandra's dorm and pondering to himself, _"Hmm, there must be someone that would be willing to go with me, but who…?" _

"Hey Ripp," Tank says, as he attempts to open his bedroom door down the hall.

"Not now Tank, I'm trying to think!" Ripp snaps, he stops Tank before he is able to respond, "And don't say that's new!"

"Darn it! You read my mind," Tank says, turning his key for the final time to open his door in success, "So, what's the big dilemma? Trying to remember out how to count to three again?"

"Haha very funny," Ripp responds, walking closer to Tank's side of the hallway, "For your information, I'm planning a trip to Strangetown tomorrow and I need to find someone to go with me."

"Well, I'd like to-"

"Not now Tank, this is no time for your sassy remarks!" Ripp cuts him off, "This is serious. I need to go back to Strangetown so I can visit Olive's Garden and see mom one final time."

"Why? Where's she going?" Tank asks, intrigued.

"Olive's sick Tank," Ripp responds, a look of seriousness spread across his face once more, "I have to go one last time to say goodbye, before her lot gets bulldozed."

Tank raises an eyebrow in confusion, "Well why don't you just take mom's grave with you?" he asks.

Ripp looks at Tank strangely, "I can do that?"

"Yeah," Tank nodding, as if it were obvious, "I mean, she's our mother and Olive paid for the grave. All you have to do is ask her for it, I'm sure she'll give it to you, and even if she doesn't, mom's grave will be fine. The city isn't allowed to tear down cemeteries, not as long as Vincund is in charge."

"See, that's the thing," Ripp begins, "Vincund isn't in charge anymore, the Beakers kind of took over the neighborhood."

"What?" Tank exclaims, unable to believe what he is hearing.

Ripp slowly nods, before letting out another sigh, "Ophelia was right. Strangetown wasn't been the same since mom died."

"_Mom,"_ Tank thinks, memories of her flooding into his mind, followed by the Resurrect-O-Nomitron. There he was, standing in the center of an empty lecture hall, his head on the telephone. He could feel himself pick it up, his hand slowly hovering over the call button. He was just about to press it when…

"Tank?" Ripp speaks, causing Tank to snap out of his thoughts, "Are you okay?" he asks.

"Yeah," Tank slowly responds, wiping the small amount of sweat that formed on his forehead; Ripp turns to leave, causing Tank to call out after him, his hand extended out in panic, "Ripp wait!" Ripp turns around, giving Tank his full attention, "About mom-" Tank begins, _"Do it Tank, tell him about the Resurrect-O-Nomitron, he has a right to know,"_ one side argues in his mind, _"No, don't do it,"_ the other side speaks up, _"There are some things that one should never know. It is best if you just forget about it and let the dead rest in peace…just think about what would happen if you did resurrect your mother, how upset your father would be,"_ the second side rings back, _"Forget about dad!" _the first side counters, _"For once do something for yourself and your two brothers. Ripp is right, things haven't been the same since your mother died, so do the right thing and bring her back. She may be the only one could can save the neighborhood,"_ the first voice completes. _"The neighborhood can save itself,"_ the second voice argues once more, _"Listen to your professor Tank, don't mess with death…don't upset what is meant to be. There is a reason why your mother is dead. Resurrecting her would only cause to panic to all those involved: you, your brothers and especially your dad. Do you want him to hate you even more?"_ Tank shakes his head, _"Of course not, so shut your mouth and put down the receiver…eiver…eiver…"_

"Yes Tank?" Ripp asks.

"I-uh," Tank looks down at the floor and sighs, the angry thoughts still swirling around in his mind, "Never mind."

"Alright," Ripp shrugs, before taking off into his bedroom and gently shutting the door behind him, leaving Tank alone in the dead silent hallway.

Tank sighs once more, looking up at the ceiling in heartache, "What have I done?"

_Meanwhile: In Front of Sparklez Jewelry Store_

"I can't believe we've been crouching behind these bushes for four hours straight," Isabella states, as she continues to gaze through her hot pink binoculars, "This is must be a pretty hardcore secret spy mission, don't you think so Kea?" Isabella asks; all is silent, "Kea?" she repeats once more. Isabella puts her binoculars down when she hears someone snoring next to her. She turns around, where sure enough, Kea is propped up against one of the bushes sleeping. "Kalson!" Isabella shouts, causing Kea to wake up from her slumber in a panic.

"I'm awake! I'm awake!" Kea exclaims, as she continues to flail her arms panicked, causing her binoculars to fall to the grass with a soft thud. She looks up only to find Isabella glaring at her, "Aww bacon bits! You caught me!"

Isabella sighs, grabbing her backpack from one of the bushes situated next to her, "Just grab your stuff, I think I've had enough for one day."

"What? We can't give up!" Kea exclaims, jumps up from her place behind the bushes, "We were so close to figuring out if Brent was the one proposing! Look at all the notes I've got!" Kea exclaims holding out her notebook.

Isabella grabs it from Kea to look at her 'supposed' notes, "Kea?" she states, "This is just a bunch of drawings of bacon!"

"There's some drawings of cheese in there!" Kea defends, causing Isabella to raise an eyebrow in doubt, "And how was I supposed to take good notes when all I could smell was the delightful aroma of fourteen different types of bacon?" Kea exclaims.

Isabella sighs, handing Kea back her green and aqua striped notebook, "Just come on, let's get out of here before that crazy smustling guy comes back."

Kea nods, before looking off into the distance; she tilts her head in wonder, "Hey, isn't that Brent?"

"What? Where?" Isabella states, completely off guard.

"Over there! Coming out of the jewelry store!" Kea shouts, pointing to the entrance of Sparklez jewelry.

Isabella looks over to the entrance, where sure enough, Brent is standing holding a small light blue package in his hands. She turns to Kea in somewhat of a shock, "You're right, that is Brent! And that must be the engagement ring!" Isabella exclaims, turning to her friend in joy, "Kea, we've done it! We've solved the mystery of who's proposing in Cassandra's dorm!"

"Yes!" Kea does a fist pump, "Celebratory ice cream here we come!" Kea states, as her and Isabella exit the lot smiling.

At the very moment, Tank walks out of the jewelry store and over to Brent, "Hey, thanks for holding it for me," he states as Brent hands Tank back the small blue package.

"Just don't tell anyone that I helped you with this," Brent responds reluctantly before exiting the area; Tank nods before walking towards the lot exit. He stops when he notices a pile of empty bacon and beef jerky wrappers near the bushes. Tank looks down at them and shrugs, before exiting off of the lot for the final time that day.

_Nighttime at Cassandra's Dormitory:_

Ripp is standing on the front porch, leaning against the bars as he looks up at the night sky. _"I just can't believe it, why won't anyone go to Strangetown with me? Is it really that much of a deathtrap that no one has the courage to even set foot there? If only I could find just one person to go with me-"_

"Hey Ripp," Isabella greets from the ground below him. She smiles as she walks over to where he is standing, "I haven't seen you since this morning, how have you been?"

"Uh, okay I guess," Ripp responds, as he watches Isabella join him on the front porch. He looks up at the sky and sighs, there was no hiding it, "Okay, I lied. It's been terrible," he tells her.

"Really?" Isabella asks, somewhat surprised by his answer, "What happened?"

"I found out that Strangetown is being enslaved by the Beakers, Olive is on her deathbed and every grave in Olive's Garden – including my mother's-is in danger."

"Ripp, that's terrible!" Isabella exclaims, before giving him a consoling side hug; she rests her head on his shoulder and sighs, "I hope everyone's okay."

"Yeah, me too," Ripp responds. He sighs and begins to ponder once more as he looks up at the starry night sky, with only the sound of the nearby fireflies echoing in his mind, failing to drown out his spiraling thoughts. After moments of silence, Ripp finally opens his mouth to speak, "You know, I have to go back there. I have to go back to Olive's Garden."

Isabella gently swallows, before giving a small nod; her head still situated on Ripp's shoulder. The gentleness of the movement causing Ripp to calm down a little; she softly sighs, "I know," she states.

"And I want you to come with me," Ripp completes; Isabella says nothing. Ripp sighs, looking down at the darkened dew covered green grass in front of Cassandra's dormitory, somewhat surprised that Isabella has not responded by now, "Isabella uh-just forget it. You don't have to come if you don't want to. I shouldn't have asked, it's way too dangerous, this is just something crazy that I have to do, in no way do you ever have to go with-"

"Okay," Isabella says suddenly.

Ripp looks up at her in shock, "What?"

"I'll go with you," Isabella states.

"You will?" Isabella smiles and nods; Ripp's face lights up as feels himself blushing, "Oh, uh thanks."

"So, when do we leave?" Isabella asks him.

"Tomorrow," Ripp answers.

"Sounds good," Isabella responds, before getting up from her place next to Ripp and heading towards the entrance of Cassandra's dormitory.

"Oh and Isabella," Ripp calls out after her, causing Isabella to turn around to face him.

"Yes?" she asks.

"I love you," Ripp states smiling.

Isabella turns, trying to hide a blush that is creeping onto her face before replying a simple, "I love you too."


	23. Strangetown & The Brave

_Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt_

_Chapter Twenty-Two_

_Junior Year: Strangetown & The Brave_

Ripp is leaning over his dorm room desk, a huge detailed map of Strangetown laying gently on top of the smooth wooden surface. Ripp sighs and begins to ponder before reaching down and tracing a make-believe route with his finger. Isabella is standing behind him, watching his actions in amusement. "According to this, the easiest way to get into Strangetown is to take the route closest to Beaker's house," Ripp states, continuing to trace the route with his finger.

"Way over there?" Isabella speaks up, "But that's way on the other side of the neighborhood! There's no way we'll make it into the garden without anyone catching us!"

Ripp sighs, rolling up the map as he turns to her, "I know, but it's the only chance we've got. Besides, it's better that we sneak past their house first, that way we won't have to run that far to make our getaway."

Isabella sighs, her eyes to the floor, "I guess," she says, "I just don't want anyone to get hurt, that's all."

Ripp turns to Isabella and smiles, placing the map of Strangetown back into his pocket, "Don't worry, we'll be fine," he replies, "Now we better get a move on if we want to make it to the garden before night strikes."

Isabella nods and follows him out the door.

_Meanwhile: In the Lounge_

Kea is sitting on the lounge room brown leather couch, a large dictionary in hand. "Oh, there's another one!" Kea exclaims as she takes out her pink highlighter and underlines the word 'bacon' in her copy of the Official Simster's Meat Lovers dictionary; she smiles and begins to flip through the pages, all of which have been highlighted bright obnoxious neon colors. She closes the book and sniffs it, "Ahh, now that's what I call an accomplishment," she states, shaking her head gently from side-to-side, "And they said I'd never do anything with my life."

"Hey Kea," Tank says as he walks into the lounge from the kitchen and takes a seat down next to her. He smiles before looking down at the dictionary in Kea's hands in confusion, "Uhh, let me guess. This has something to do with bacon, right?"

"Yep!" Kea beams, embracing the Meat Lovers dictionary with a rather large grin, "I finally finished my week-long dream of highlighting every meat word in the dictionary, it's so juicy!" Kea exclaims before sniffing the Simster's dictionary once more, "It smells just like I dreamed it would! Who knew that bacon was the solution to all of life's problems?" Kea thinks for a moment, before adding, "Well, besides me."

Tank gazes at Kea and laughs, "No one Kea, you're definitely one of a kind," he says, as he physically turns on the couch to face her; placing a hand on her shoulder, he lightly taps her in the hopes of getting his girlfriend's attention, "Look, I'm glad I found you, remember how I told you earlier that I was going to take you out to dinner on Friday?"

"Yes…?" Kea replies, clenching her navy blue and cerulean striped dictionary in somewhat of a panic; uncertainty filling her voice.

"Well uh, about that," Tank begins, rubbing the back of his head like a nervous wreck, "I never exactly got to ask you where you wanted to go. So um, where do you want me to take you?"

"Oh, is that all?" Kea says, her heart rate turning back to normal; she gives a sigh of relief, "Well that's a relief, for a second there I thought you were going to cancel on me, or break up with me," Kea replies, her voice sounding weaker at the last statement.

Tank tilts his head in confusion, "Now why would you think that?" he asks.

Kea shakes her head, as she brings her knees up to her chest and hugs him, "I don't know, I guess since everything was going so well, I thought maybe you'd think it was time for a change," Kea says; she looks up at Tank, her head still hung low in shame, "It's silly I know, but trust me, it's happened before."

"Yeah well, it's not going to happen anymore," Tank states, gently lifting up Kea's chin so that they are face-to-face, "Trust me, none of us are going anywhere, especially not me."

Kea sighs and makes eye contact with him, "I know it's just-" Kea stops when she notices Ripp and Isabella heading towards a taxi from out the window, "Hey! Where are they going?" Kea exclaims as she quickly jumps up from off of the couch and races down the front steps of Cassandra's dormitory.

Kea reaches the taxi just as Isabella is about to step in, "Izzy!" she calls out to her friend, "Izzy wait! Don't leave! You can't get rid of me that easily! We're supposed to be best friends forever!"

Upon seeing Kea, Isabella stops at the open car door and smiles at her, "Don't worry Kea, I'm coming back this afternoon," she states.

Kea leans against the taxi, trying to catch her breath, "You are?" she asks, Isabella nods, "Oh, well in that case…have a good trip!"

Isabella smiles and gives a small nod, "Sure thing," she says before climbing into the backseat of the taxi and slamming the door shut, "See you later Kea!" she calls out from the open car window.

Next to her, Ripp turns and smiles watching as Kea continues to wave at Isabella as the car drives away with Tank behind her, "You do realize how lucky you are to have a friend like her?"

Isabella nods, not bothering to take her eyes off of her waving friend in the distance, "I sure do," she states.

_Fifteen Minutes Later_

Ripp and Isabella have just been dropped off by their taxi on the border of their old neighborhood of Strangetown. "Well, this is it," Ripp states, signaling to the cab driver one final time before turning around to face his old neighborhood, "This is-" Ripp turns around only to find the entire neighborhood bordered-in by a barbed wire fence, the place within it seemingly deserted, "-Strangetown?" he completes, a hint of desperation and shock in his voice, "What happened to this place?" Ripp says, looking up at the 'Welcome to Strangetown' sign, which looks as old as time itself.

"I don't know," Isabella replies from a few feet away from him, "Do you supposed it has anything to do with this?" Isabella asks, causing Ripp to walk up behind her and gaze to what she is pointing at. In front of them is a large chrome-encrusted sign which reads, 'Welcome to Slavestown, property of Loki and Circe Beaker. Go away, if you wish to live another day.'

"Aww geez, that doesn't sound good," Ripp replies, causing Isabella's gaze to drift away from the terrifying sounding sign and over to him.

She raises an eyebrow and taps her foot in annoyance, "You think?"

"Halt! Who goes there?" a stern voice speaks from their end of the fence. Ripp and Isabella watch in horror and traces of panic as three armed alien guards storm over to the, getting closer and closer with each step that they take.

Ripp turns to Isabella, having a hard time keeping his voice from exposed the pure terror that he is feeling, "Crap! What are we going to do? If we don't come up with something in the next five seconds we'll get busted for sure! And we haven't even gone to Olive's Garden yet!"

"Calm down, I have an idea!" Isabella states, moving her legs in a panic as the guards approach them. Isabella steps towards Ripp, bringing her arms out in front of her.

"Isabella? What the heck are you-" Ripp is quickly cut off as Isabella pushes him against the side of the fence and begins to make out with him. She stops when the shadows of the guards reach them, continuing to embrace Ripp as she turns to them.

"Oh don't mind us, we're just two lovers making out," Isabella states, trying to hide the panic in her voice as the guards reach towards the weapons in their pockets, "Isn't that right Ripp?"

Ripp turns to glance at the glaring guards before responding, "Uh yeah, what she said. It's all for the power of justice-" the guards raise their eyebrows in suspicion, hands on their weapons, "I-I mean uh love! Yeah, let's just go with that," Ripp concludes, giving his best phony smile.

The guards turn to one another and shrug, "You were right Pollination Tech #15," the one on the right says, "These youngin's are too stupid to do anything, let's just go back to base before the Leader starts getting suspicious."

The other two nod, "Good idea Pollination Tech #19," the one on the left states. In a few moments all of them are gone, causing Isabella to let go of Ripp and nod in satisfaction, gently wiping off her mouth with her bright pink shirt sleeve.

She turns to Ripp and smiles, "Come on, let's go!" Isabella exclaims before heading into the deserted neighborhood.

Ripp slowly nods, still dazed about what just happened and caught-up in the moment; his expression completely off-guard, "Uhh okay," he states as he follows after her, "Whatever you say Isabella."

_Five Minutes Later_

"Remember the last time we were here Ripp?" Isabella says, as she breathes in some of the smooth, crisp air from their place on top of the largest hill in Strangetown. Next to Isabella Ripp smiles and nods, still holding onto his girlfriend's hand.

"Yes," he answers, stopping mid-sentence to gaze at the beauty from all sides of the hilltop, "I wouldn't forget it," Ripp adds, "It seems like only yesterday that I brought you here."

Isabella smiles again, her eyes shining as she continues to gaze at the wonderful view of the neighborhood that was once known as Strangetown, "It's still just as beautiful as it was five years ago…"

_Five Years Ago in Strangetown:_

_Ripp and Isabella are standing on the sand-covered hill side-by-side, "It sure is incredible isn't it?" Ripp asks Isabella, still facing the remains of Pollination Tech 9's spaceship, "But to tell you the truth, I didn't really take you out here to show you the ship."_

_"You didn't?" Isabella asks, Ripp shakes his head no. "Then what did you bring me here to see?"_

_"Turn around Isabella," Ripp says._

_Isabella turns around and looks at the beautiful view, the sand dunes stretching as far as the eye can see, "Wow, this is amazing," Isabella says in awe, "You can see everything in Strangetown." Ripp smiles and nods in agreement._

_"Yes," Ripp says serenely, "It's amazing."_

_Present Day at the Specter's Residence_

Olive Specter is sitting at her medieval-style table struggling to make a few last-minute marks in her small black book. She weakly places the pen down on the hard, wooden surface and sighs, exhausted from a long day of writing. "Well that just about does it," Olive says, leaning back in her rocking chair to admire her hours of hard work, "If I should die tomorrow, then at least I know everything will have it's place."

An unfamiliar sound rings from the front of the house, causing Olive to slowly get up out of chair, closing her book as she makes her way to the door, "Now I wonder who that could be," she says grabbing her cane from the corner of the foyer, "I haven't had a visitor for weeks!" Olive states before leaning her face up against the peephole for a look at the visitor; she smiles to herself as she opens the door.

"Why if it isn't Ripp Grunt," she says to the boy on the left; Ripp smiles and waves as Olive turns her attentions to the girl standing next to him, "And who might this be?"

Isabella smiles and steps forward, "Oh, I'm Isabella eXtreme," she greets.

Olive claps her hands, "Of course! Now how could I have forgotten that? Ophelia's mentioned you before. Weren't you the girl that brought those pretty flowers for Lyla's grave?"

Isabella nods, "Yes, that was me," she answers, "But Ripp was the one who brought me here," she adds.

"It's funny you should mention my mother's grave Olive," Ripp says as he takes a seat at the kitchen table following Olive's wave in, "Cause I've been wondering something lately."

"Go on," Olive nods as she slowly takes a seat down across from Ripp.

"Well um, I just talked to Ophelia the other day and she heard that you haven't been feeling very well lately. And it got me wondering, what's going to happen to my mother's grave after you…you know, pass on?" Ripp asks the elderly woman.

"I don't know Ripp, there's no telling what will happen to my estate after I die," Olive Specter says; she notices Ripp's eyes move to the floor, "But if you're really so worried about that, why don't you just take your mother's grave now?"

Ripp looks up, hardly believing his ears, "You mean, I can do that?" he asks her.

"Of course," Olive replies, "After all she is your mother, and I know you'll take good care of her," she states before using her cane to stand up and inch her way over to the window, she stops to gaze at Lyla's grave in the garden, "Besides, you're the only one that really comes by here anymore."

Isabella stands up from her seat and joins Olive at the window, "You mean Ophelia hasn't been back here since she left?"

Olive shakes her head, "No, and I don't blame her. Strangetown's gotten so bad that once people leave they don't ever want to come back," she says, "I would do something, but I'm at the end of my life, I'm powerless and the Beakers know it," Olive stops and sighs before turning back to her guests, "But enough about that, how about you two go out in the garden and get that grave before the sun sets?" Ripp and Isabella turn to each other and nod, heading out into the garden together, Ripp giving a small 'thank you Olive' before they make their way behind the fence.

Olive watches as Ripp stops in front of his mother's grave, seemingly crying as he kneels down before it. All of a sudden, she sees Isabella walk up behind him, wrapping her arm around Ripp in an attempt to console him, rubbing her hand against his back in sorrow. For a moment, they kneel in silence, causing Olive to ponder to herself. _"They're so sincere in everything they do,"_ Olive says to herself, surprised at these two young adult sims' actions, _"I can't believe Ripp would risk his life to get into this deathtrap, just for his mother's grave. I mean, she's deceased, it's not like she's ever going to remember this, he must really care about her…" _

Olive steps away from the window and reaches into her coat pocket, feeling around for the gentle touch of her small black book; upon finding it, she pulls it out of her pocket and sets it on the large wooden table in front of her. Using her cane, she slowly inches her way over to the end of the table and takes a seat in the rocking chair in front of it. She opens up the book and turns to the page that she had previously bookmarked before the two visited. She pulls out her black leather pen and twists it, gazing down at the words she had just written:

"_In my lifetime, I have achieved much financial success. However, nothing is more important to me than my family. Therefore, I leave my entire estate on 13 Dead End Lane to my son, Nervous Subject. And as for my millions that I have made for my lifetime work as a Professional Party Guest, I wish to leave them to the most sincere person that I have ever met…Lyla Grunt…"_

Olive Specter looks down at the name of her long-deceased friend and sighs, before taking out her pen and adding a few more lines to the bottom of her will:

"_Or, in the event of Lyla's untimely death, I hereby leave all of my fortune to her middle child, Ripp Grunt. For just as I said to you many years ago, it's never too late to turn your life around. Things can change just like that, because anything is possible. Treat my possessions well Ripp, you've earned them._

_Sincerely, (Your Neighbor & Friend),_

_ Olive Specter." _


	24. Junior Year: Valentine's Day

_Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt_

_Chapter Twenty-Three_

_Junior Year: Valentine's Day_

"I hope we stay together forever, because you are the love of my lifes," Tank says, placing down his black ink pen to look at the pink heart-shaped card in front of him, "Hmm, not bad. I made it through the whole card without making a single mistake-Aww dang it!" he exclaims catching the spelling error, crumpling the valentine up and tossing it into the trashcan with a huff. After a few moments he returns to his desk, picking up another card from the stack. "Dear Kea," he begins to write.

"Hey Tank, what's up?" a voice chimes from the doorway, causing Tank to jump a mile, the card flinging up, as he desperately tries to cover it up from the intruder.

"Nothing," Tank quickly responds, placing the heart roughly back down on the table to eye his younger brother, "Nothing at all Ripp," he replies trying to lower his racing heart rate, "Now if you don't mind, I would like to get back to work, so please leave."

Ripp gives Tank a look of confusion, stepping over to where he situated, "Get back to work huh? And what kind of work would you be doing on a Saturday morning?" he asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh you know just uh-uh-" Tank begins, fidgeting with his hands a little. "Oh, just get out of here!" Tank shouts, pushing Ripp towards the hallway and out the door, slamming it shut in his face.

"Hey!" Ripp exclaims, finding himself face-to-face with the back of Tank's dorm room door. "Well that was uncalled for."

_Meanwhile: In the Lounge_

"So Izzy, you never told me how your trip to Strangetown went," Kea says, taking a seat next to her best friend, who is sitting down on the brown leather couch, cereal in hand, "Did you see any monkeys?"

"Monkeys?" Isabella repeats, eyeing her friend who is now devouring her third bowl of Sim Flakes, cracking a smile, "There aren't any monkeys in Strangetown!"

"There aren't?" Kea asks, "Then why is it called 'strange'?"

Isabella shrugs, "I'm guessing it has something to do with the aliens and the UFOs and the 'supposed' serial killer, but hey, I could be wrong. I'm not exactly a native to the place."

Kea nods, "Sweet," she burps, before turning her attentions back to her friend, "So, did you ever make it to the olive tree?" she asks.

"Yes, we made it to Olive's house," Isabella answers, "We almost got caught on the way there, but luckily we were able to convince the guards that we were just a couple of goofy college kids that only came to Strangetown to make out," she explains.

"Wait, you mean you're not?" Kea questions Isabella, placing her now-empty bacon themed cereal bowl onto the mahogany side table next to her, "Well you sure fooled me! Now all you have to worry about is going to dinner at your parents' house this Friday!"

"Aww geez, I completely forgot about that!" Isabella exclaims, covering her face with her hands slumping into the couch a bit. "Well, I guess we don't have to do that. I mean, we could always spend our junior year studying or something."

Isabella and Kea both exchange glances with each other before bursting out laughing.

"Haha, yeah, that's a good one," Kea states, wiping a falling tear away from her eye, "But seriously, what are you going to do about the dinner?"

"I don't know, this is such a sticky situation," Isabella answers, rubbing her right knee a bit as she stares down at the rug, "I mean, how am I supposed to tell Ripp that my dad – who hates him – wants to meet him?"

Kea shrugs, "I know! Just sit him down and place a bag over his head and threaten to call child services if he doesn't go with you!" Kea says, dusting her hands off on the couch, "It's as easy as one, two, five!"

Isabella nods for a moment, before stopping, realizing that what her best friend just suggested made absolutely no sense. "Is it just me or have you gotten even crazier since I met you?" she asks, turning towards Kea.

"I'm pretty sure I've gotten crazier," Kea nods, "But don't sweat about telling Ripp, just sit him down and explain to him the situation. I'm sure he'll understand and agree to go with you."

"Maybe you're right Kea, maybe this isn't as complicated as I'm making it out to be," Isabella concludes, standing up on the rug, turning to her, "Thanks for the advice, I'll catch you later!" Isabella states, racing towards the residence hallway.

"You're welcome!" Kea shouts back, sitting back down to ponder for a moment, "Wait a minute. What did I do?" she shouts across the lounge. Hearing no response, Kea shrugs, taking out another box of Sim Flakes from underneath the couch, refilling her bowl. "Ah well, I tried," she states, taking a few more bites of the cereal. She sighs, "I am awesome."

_A Few Minutes Later: Inside of His Dorm Room_

Ripp is sitting on his bed working on his English midterm, "And that is why many Shakespearean actors were nervous about the character of Iago being portrayed onscreen," Ripp states aloud, concluding his handwritten draft. He sighs in relief upon finishing, placing his pencil down to allow himself to shake out his aching hand, "Not bad for _Othello_," he says, scanning over his paper.

He places it back down on his bed, only find that his notebook is now bouncing up and down on the sheets. "What the-?" Ripp states, searching around his room to find the source of the movement. All of a sudden he stops against near the wall, hearing thumping noises coming from his brother's room.

"What the heck is that?" Ripp asks aloud, placing his hand on the door and racing over to Tank's bedroom. He bursts open the door, his hand gripped on the shiny golden doorknob as he steps back, eyes widening at the sight before him.

Tank and Kea are jumping up and down on Tank's mattress, laughing on each trip to the air. "What is going on here?" Ripp asks the pair.

"Ripp!" Tank exclaims, he stops jumping, landing on the bed with a plop. The impact of the fall causing Kea to fall on top of him.

"Tank, what are you-mmph!" Kea states as she lands next to him.

"Uh, just out of curiosity, how much of that did you see?" Tank asks, sitting up on his bed, facing his younger brother, who is now smirking in the doorway.

"Just enough to blackmail you with," Ripp says reaching into his pocket and pulling out his cell phone, "Man, wait until Buck hears about this!" he comments, reaching down to dial their number.

"Oh no he won't!" Tank shouts, tackling Ripp to the ground in an attempt to grab the cell phone from him, the pair getting into some sort of a tussle.

Upon hearing the noise, Isabella walks into the room, eyebrow raised. "What the heck is going on here?" she asks, eyeing the two brothers who are now wrestling on the floor, clearly confused by the whole situation.

"I don't know," Kea answers, moving from her place on the bed to stand next to Isabella, "I think they're both fighting over me," she states, smiling innocently.

Isabella sighs as she watches the Grunt brothers tussle, "I knew I should've stayed in my room. But you just had to know what was going on, didn't you Isabella?" she scowls herself, giving her head a pity shake, before exiting the area, "I should've known."

"Hey what's this?" Ripp says, grabbing a piece of pink heart shaped paper that has fallen to the right of him due to Tank's tackle, scanning over the words on the paper with a smile, "Aww, you wrote a Kea a poem?"

"What?! Give me that!" Tank exclaims, a small blush forming on his face as he attempts to tear it away from him.

"You did?" Kea awes, stepping forward, her hand on her chest, somewhat smitten.

All of a sudden Ripp bursts into laughter. "What's so funny?" Tank snarls.

"Nothing, just your inability to write decent poetry," Ripp comments, still trying to keep Tank away from the card.

"Er," Tank growls, pushing Ripp off of him and grabbing the card from his clutches in one quick swipe, "Don't read that! It's personal!" Tank shouts, standing up from the ground and turning back towards the door, Ripp following right behind him.

"Ooh, Tank has feelings."

"Shut-up," Tank states, clearly annoyed by the whole situation, as he turns back towards his desk, clearly worn out from all the wrestling.

"Hey Ripp, do you mind visiting Isabella for a bit? I'd like to talk to Tank for a minute," Kea says, grabbing a hold of one of Tank's biceps as she says this.

Ripp nods in agreement, "Sure," he states, "I was just about to do that anyway," he says, giving her a small nod before taking off down the hallway.

The door slams, leaving the two of them alone.

"Someday that boy is going to get what he deserves," Tank comments, turning off his cell phone.

"So…your mother?" Kea questions, attempting to break the ice.

Tank turns around, cracking a small smile, before taking a seat back down on his unmade bed, "If only that were possible," he states.

Kea nods, taking a seat down next to him. She smiles, grabbing Tank's hand as she eyes the love note situated on his desk, "I don't deserve you," she whispers with a sigh.

"Nonsense," Tank replies, "We both know it's you who's too good for me."

Kea looks up, sorrow filling her silvery gray eyes, "That's not what your dad said," she whispers back.

"I don't care what my dad said," Tank responds giving Kea's hand a gently squeeze, "Ripp's right, if I try to live to impress my dad, I'll never be happy."

Kea smiles, tears forming in her eyes as she squeezes his hand gently in return, "Look at you, listening to the enemy."

Tank nods, before turning to make eye contact with his girlfriend once more, "Well, maybe he's right just this once," Tank concludes, moving his hand away from hers so that he can wrap an arm around Kea instead. They sit in silence.

"Tank?"

"Hm?" he responds, his heart rate now back to normal, as he continues to hold her close to his body.

"Do you love me?" Kea speaks into the silence.

Tank nods, "Of course, you know I love you," he replies.

"No, I mean, do you love me for real? As in more than just a fling?" Kea asks him, her eyes situated on the photo of the two of them together that is hung up on Tank's corkboard, "You know, like a premade sim loves another premade sim?"

"Oh…" Tank says, his voice trailing off a bit as he begins to think about this. Kea tenses up as she awaits his answer, "In that case," he smiles, "Absolutely."

Kea leans back for a moment, unable to control the tears that are now flowing down her cheeks, thinking about what this might mean. "You know, Andrew never told me that," she manages to squeak out.

"Yeah well, if you ask me Andrew was an idiot."

Kea loosens her grip on Tank a bit, leaning forward a little in confusion, "What makes you say that?" she asks.

"Because…" Tank begins, looking at his girlfriend, before turning straight ahead, "He let you go."

Kea nods before she throws her arms around Tank in a tight hug, crying a bit into his chest.

She never wanted to let _him _go.

_Meanwhile: In the Kitchen_

"Breanna! Breanna Bertino!" Brent shouts bursting through the kitchen's double doors, carrying a colorful bouquet of flowers in his hands. He stops in front of the table she is seated at and holds them out above her macaroni, "Please forgive me!"

"Go away Brent," Breanna says, pushing the flowers away from her in annoyance, "Everyone knows that you're only doing this because you don't want your parents to think you're a loser," she states.

"That is not true!" Brent fires back, holding the flowers out to her once more, "This has nothing to do with me looking good for my parents," he states, stopping when he notices Breanna giving him a disbelieving look, eyebrow raised.

Brent continues the stare-down with her for a few moments, before sighing, tossing the flowers down onto the table.

"Look, the truth is I'm genuinely sorry about what I did and I want to make it up to you," he eyes, noticing Breanna's glare soften a bit, "So, what do you say?"

Breanna eyes Brent, looking for any sign of insincerity in his statement. Finding none, she stands up from the table, throwing down her spoon, "Oh, what the heck," she replies, crossing her arms, "But I still haven't forgiven you," she says, taking the flowers from off of the black and white checkered table and giving them a quick sniff, "See you on Friday, Brent."

"Yeah," Brent states, placing his hand slowly back down to his side, slightly confused as to what just happened, "See ya later, Breanna."

_Meanwhile: In the Living Room_

"So, what do you think?" Ripp asks, holding up the kitten shaped marionette that he made in art class. Isabella smiles as she gazes up at it.

"It's very cute," she states, opening her hand to allow Ripp to give it to her. She sighs, looking down at the delicate features he had painted on it.

"What's wrong?" Ripp asks, rubbing her back slightly, noticing that Isabella's thoughts appear to be elsewhere, "Do you not like it?"

Isabella quickly shakes the thought from his mind, "No, no, I love it. Really, I do. It's just-there's something I have to tell you," Isabella states, sighing as she gently places the kitten marionette down on the table next to her, grabbing Ripp's hands.

"Okay," Ripp responds, sensing the seriousness of the situation, "What's up?"

Isabella looks down at the ground for a moment, trying to find the correct way to word this, "Ripp, my parents want me to come home next weekend for dinner."

"Oh," Ripp replies, "That sounds nice."

"And they want me to bring you," Isabella adds, "Well, my mother didn't say you specifically, but she wants me to bring the guy I am dating, so we can catch up and so that _the guy I'm dating_ can meet my dad," she concludes, turning towards her boyfriend, awaiting his response.

"Oh no."

Isabella nods as if she understands, "Yeah…"

All of a sudden, Ripp stands up, clearly panicked, "I can't Isabella, I just can't! Your dad hates me!" he exclaims, turning towards her, "If he finds out we got back together, he's going to kill me!"

"Come on Ripp, maybe it won't be that bad," Isabella explains, walking over in an attempt to console him.

"And maybe my blood will be on the floor!" Ripp exclaims.

"You know I wouldn't let that happen," Isabella says, grabbing Ripp by the arm, "Now I know this isn't easy, but it would really mean a lot to me if you would go. Not just for me but for our relationship," Isabella reasons, "If we make it through this then we can make it through anything," she adds, sighing as she looks down at their interlocking hands. "Please honey, I love you."

Ripp looks down at the ground for a moment and sighs, realizing that he has no choice. "Alright," he accepts, "Just promise you'll be there with me the whole time."

Isabella nods, smiling a bit before she leans over, giving her boyfriend a quick peck on the cheek.

"I promise."


	25. Junior Year: Dinner at the eXtremes

_Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt_

_Chapter Twenty-four_

_Junior Year: Dinner at the eXtremes_

Kea and Isabella are lying down on the grassy fields behind Cassandra's dormitory, watching the white, puffy clouds float by. Kea smiles, licking her lips at the clouds above her; which she imagines to be shaped as various different kinds of meats. She sighs, turning to her best friend, whose thoughts appear to be elsewhere, "Isabella? Do you ever think there's more to life than just eating meat? Cause I sure don't!" Kea quickly adds, "Honestly, those vegetarians don't know what they're missing," she completes.

Kea lies in silence for a moment, before raising an eyebrow, confused as to why her best friend has groaned in response yet. "Uh, Izzy? Are you okay?" Kea asks, turning around to position herself on her elbows, so that she can check up on Isabella. Sure enough, Isabella is lying face down on the grass, her head inside a nearby bush. She groans. "Now that's the spirit!" Kea states.

"Sorry Kea, it's not that I'm not excited about the meat clouds, I just can't seem to focus on anything but the dinner my parents are throwing tonight," Isabella says, sitting up on her knees, "I have no idea how it's going to turn out, especially since my dad doesn't know that I'm still seeing Ripp," she states, her voice filled with worry.

Kea shakes it off, "Don't worry, Isabella, I'm sure everything will work out fine. After all, your parents just want you to be happy right? Even if it's with someone they don't necessarily like," Kea consoles, giving her friend a half-side hug.

Isabella smiles, "Thanks, Kea. You always know just what to say to cheer me up."

"Hey, I gotta be something more than just a girl who really likes meat," Kea reasons, standing up from off of the grass and heading towards the door, "Now, as much as I hate to leave you out here, I have to go and get ready for my date with Tank."

Isabella cocks her head in confusion, "But wait, isn't your date a few hours from now?" she asks.

"Yeah," Kea nods, "But he told me to dress nice for it since he's going to be taking me to downtown Strangetown tonight," Kea says smiling, "I've never been to a real, actual non-college community lot before, this is kind of exciting," she narrates, turning back to the door and giving a small wave, "Wish me luck Izzy."

"Good luck!" Isabella waves back, watching as her friend walks into the doorway, out of sight. Isabella sighs, glancing down at her watch. "Four o'clock," she speaks, "That gives me three hours until it all comes crashing down."

_A Few Hours Later_

Brent is standing on the front porch of his parent's estate, ringing the doorbell vigorously. Breanna, his date, is standing next to him, wearing her classic purple dress with pink floral pattern on it. She sighs, tapping her foot in impatience, "Are you sure this thing starts at seven?" she asks him, "We've been standing on the porch ringing the doorbell for ten minutes and your parents haven't answered yet!"

"Yes, I'm sure it's at seven and don't worry, my parents do this all the time. I'm sure they'll either answer now or eventually!" Brent replies. Breanna rolls her eyes.

All of a sudden a shadowy figure appears behind the curtain of the windowed door. Brent smiles as the door opens, coming face to face with his smiling, gray haired, emerald eyed grandmother.

"Gramma! It's been so long, it's so nice to see you," Brent greets, giving his grandmother a hug. She smiles as he pulls away to converse some more, "How have you been?"

"Quite dandy, and yourself?" Gramma asks her grandson, before stepping out of the doorway, allowing her grandson and his date passage into the house, "Please come inside, you don't want to catch a cold," she states. Brent and Breanna nod, following her into the house and taking a seat on the zebra printed couch.

"Alban! Lenda! The guests are here!" Gramma calls out as they take a seat. Brent watches as she turns towards the doorway, a woman wearing her signature orange dress with a big purple bow tied in the back complete with matching legwarmers stepping into the room carrying what appears to be tonight's dinner.

"Is it Brent or Isabella?" Lenda asks, smiling as eyes her son and a girl she has yet to meet situated on the couch in the living room. Lenda quickly places the steel pot on the dinner table before walking over and hugging her son. "Brent, dear! You haven't changed bit!" she states, pulling her eldest in for a heartwarming embrace, "Though you have gotten a bit taller," she comments.

"Hey Mom, I missed you too," Brent returns the greeting, before pulling away, gesturing towards Breanna who is now standing up uneasy next to him. "I'd like you to meet Breanna," he says, stepping back a bit, allowing Breanna to step forward and shake his mother's hand, "She's my friend from college."

"What a pleasure to meet you Breanna," Lenda says, shaking the young girl's hand, "I would say that I've heard so much about you, but Brent doesn't seem to call me as much as he used to these days," Lenda states, giving her son a glare.

Brent shrugs, "Hey, I try, but sometimes college can be really hectic."

_Ping._

"Well would you look at that? Dinner's ready!" Lenda says, turning towards the dinner table before turning back to her guests, "Let's go before the roast starts getting cold."

"The roast is doing fine dear," Alban says from his spot at the head of the table, "I think you should be more worried about your daughter being late," he concludes, his face as stiff as the suit he is wearing.

"Hey yeah, where is Isabella?" Lenda asks taking a quick peek at the clock that is on the oven, "It's almost seven thirty!"

"Don't worry mom," Brent begins, taking his seat at the table next to Breanna, "I'm sure she'll be here any minute."

_Meanwhile: At Cassandra's Dormitory_

"Er…ugh…ah!" Isabella grunts as she attempts to move something at full force wearing her pink Sunday best dress, "Come on Ripp, it won't be that bad!" she states, groaning as she tries to yank Ripp off of the front door's paneling.

Ripp shakes his head, grabbing onto the doorway for dear life, refusing to budge, "That's easy for you to say, he actually likes you!" he fires back, his tux wrinkling in the struggle, "He's not going to beat you up for stealing his daughter!"

"Ripp, you're acting ridiculous, there's absolutely nothing to be afraid of!" She shouts between tugs, "We're just going to go to my parents' house, catch up, and a nice peaceful dinner. No guts, no blood, no tragedy."

Ripp sighs, loosening his grip a bit, "Really?" he states.

"Really," Isabella replies, holding her fingers up in a promise. Her hand on her lower back, in an attempt to catch her breath.

"Well, okay," Ripp says, stepping away from the doorway and pushing out – opening the door for his girlfriend, "But as soon as danger strikes, I am out of there."

_Meanwhile: Back at the eXtremes_

"Wow, you guys have forks?" Breanna states, picking up the shiny silver utensil in front of her and touching each of the four prongs delicately with her finger. Across from her, the eXtremes are watching her in confusion.

"Uh Breanna, sweetie?" Brent speaks up, grabbing the fork and putting it gently back in its place, before placing his hand over hers as well. "That's enough for now."

Lenda nods, as she eyes the clock on the mantle, "Eight o'clock? You don't think something bad happened to Izzy, do you?"

Brent shakes his head, "No, she's probably just running late again," he replies.

"Typical of your sister to be late," Alban comments, his eyes on his firstborn, "Oh well, I'm sure she'll be here eventually. We still have to meet that boyfriend of hers."

Brent gently places down his fork, a butterfly feeling forming in the pit of his stomach. "Uh, dad? About Isabella's new boyfriend-"

"Oh, it doesn't matter who he is," Alban states, placing his napkin across his lap with a laugh, "Just as long as it's not that Ripp Grunt fellow."

Brent smiles, laughing nervously, "And if he is…?"

Alban gives Brent a look of confusion as the doorbell rings. "I'll get it," Lenda eXtreme volunteers, getting up from out of her seat and walking over to the front door. She answers it, only to find her middle child, Isabella, standing on the porch, a boy who appears to be an older version of Ripp standing nervously on the first step behind her.

Lenda smiles, "Izzy! There you are!" she exclaims, giving her daughter a hug.

"Hey Mom, sorry we're late," Isabella says, pulling away from her mother, "Ripp and I had to uh, buy this cantaloupe!" Isabella says, holding her empty hands out in front of her. Upon noticing this, she turns to Ripp, her voice in a whispered panic. "Where's the cantaloupe?"

"I ate it," Ripp whispers back, his face half panic-half pity, "Do you want the rinds?" he asks.

"No I don't want the rinds!" Isabella shouts back, scaring both Ripp and her mother. Reminded of her mother's presence, Isabella turns back around, her hands behind her back, giving a weak somewhat forced smile, "So uh, can we come in?"

Lenda gives a small nod, before stepping out of the way allowing her daughter and Mr. Grunt entrance. Lenda smiles as Ripp walks by her, "Hey, I remember you! You're that nice boy I met at the pool a few years ago," she states.

"Ye-yeah," Ripp manages to stutter out, holding his hand out in greeting, "H-Hi Mrs. eXtreme."

Lenda smiles, throwing her arms around Ripp, "Hi Ripp."

"Well, well, well, look who's finally here," Brent states as Isabella rounds the corner, taking a seat down next to her brother.

"Yeah, sorry about that, we uh-ran into traffic and had some uh, slight complications," Isabella adds, scooching her chair in a little. She narrows her eyes a bit when she notices Brent trying to mouth something.

'Where's Ripp?' Brent mouths to her.

Isabella scrunches her eyebrows "What?" she states.

"Where's Ripp?" Brent whispers a little louder. Isabella nods and gestures to the door behind her.

Lenda comes up from the living room, her hands joined together in joy. "Well, now that everyone's here we can start dinner," Lenda says, reaching over to the table and grabbing the pot of mixed vegetables.

"Everyone?" Alban repeats, eyeing the people around him, "Isabella, where's your-?" Alban stands up, only to find himself face to face with Ripp, who is slowly walking in from the living room. Upon seeing him, Alban steps back, his hand hitting the back of the table in shock. "L-Lenda, can I talk to you for a moment?" Alban says, grabbing his wife by the arm and leading her into the bathroom.

"Well, I'd say dad took that pretty well," Brent says, after he slams the bathroom door shut.

"Lenda," Alban whispers harshly inside of the small white and pale blue tiled bathroom, "Please tell me this is some sort of joke! What is he doing here?" Alban hisses, gesturing towards the table.

"Ripp's Isabella's boyfriend honey, I guess they fell back in love," she answers softly.

"So you mean to tell me that we sent Isabella to a college a hundred miles away from here, only to have her go and fall in love with the same guy?" Alban questions.

Lenda nods, "Pretty much, yeah."

Alban slams his head on the bathroom wall and groans. "But part of the reason why I sent Isabella to college in the first place was because I thought she would find someone new and they would never see each other again!"

"Well obviously that didn't work," Lenda concludes, giving her husband a gentle pat on the shoulder, "Now come on Alban, can't you just let this go for one night so we can have a nice peaceful dinner?" she asks, "Isabella obviously likes him," she adds.

"Fine," Alban responds, his arms in a pout, "But if he lays one hand on her, he's toast," he growls, placing his hand on the door and joining the others back at the table. He turns towards Ripp, angrily cutting the roast on his plate.

"So Ripp, tell me, what do you do for a living?" he asks, his icy glare obviously planted on him.

Ripp leans back, playing with his hands a bit as he searches for the right way to answer this question, "Well uh, I'm a student."

"Studying what?" Alban fires back, causing everyone at the table to sit back in nervousness.

"Literature," Ripp answers weakly.

Alban rolls his eyes, "Typical, that's such a pointless subject!"

"Alban!" Lenda whisper hisses from the seat next to him, as Ripp nudges Isabella in the side.

"Can we go now?" he whispers to her.

"Not yet," Isabella states, "I still have to break the news to my parents." Isabella sighs as she stands up, wiping her hands off with a napkin. "Mom, dad, Gramma, I have something important that I have to tell you," Isabella speaks up from her seat at the corner of the table.

"Oh this'll be good," Alban replies sarcastically.

"Dad please," Isabella says, turning to him for a moment, before turning her attentions back towards everyone situated at the table, "A couple of years ago when I was freshman I came to a revelation," she begins, somewhat scared that all eyes are now on her, "I realized that I was a failure of a Romance sim and that if I ever wanted to be happy in life I would have to do something about it," she states, nervously fiddling with her napkin. She sighs, "So I changed my aspiration, and I have been living my life as a Family sim ever since," Isabella completes, seemingly pleased with her confession, "So uh, that's it. That's all I have to say," Isabella says, slowly taking her seat back down at the table, the expressions on her family members' faces unreadable.

"Well-" Lenda starts to speak.

"Bravo Isabella, bravo!" Gramma shouts from her seat across the table, standing up to give her granddaughter a round of applause, "It's not very easy to make an aspiration change, but you appeared to be responsible enough to do it successfully. I'm proud of you!"

Isabella nods, a small smile forming on her face for her grandmother, "Thanks, Gramma," she states, before turning towards her father who has yet to say anything on the matter. "So, what do you think, dad?" she asks.

"Did he tell you to do this?" Alban asks, not bothering to look his daughter straight in the eye, his expression stern.

Isabella cocks her eyebrows, "What?"

"Did _he _tell you to change your aspiration?" Alban repeats, pointing towards Ripp, "Or was this your choice alone?" he questions.

"It was my choice, it was completely my decision," Isabella answers, attempting to look her father in the eyes.

"Well, in that case, that's probably the smartest decision you've ever made in your life," Alban responds, going back to cutting his roast, "It's a much more honorable aspiration."

"Thanks, dad," Isabella replies. Next to her, Brent is staring down at the ground, a shameful expression on his face.

"Brent? What's wrong?" Lenda asks from the other side of the table.

Brent shakes his head, trying to wash the guilty thoughts away from his mind, "Nothing mom," he repeats, "Just thinking about things, that's all," he says, reaching under the table and gently grabbing Breanna's hand. She looks up at him, flustered.

"Yes-sir-ee, a Family aspiration is the way to go if you want it all," Alban continues, "Of course if you want to be successful, then a Fortune sim is the way to go. Fortune or knowledge, that's what I always say."

Lenda smiles, "We know dear," she remarks before turning back to her daughter, "So Isabella, have you made any new friends since you came to college?"

Isabella gently places down her fork, smiling as she thinks of her crazy best friend. "Well actually-"

All of a sudden a girl wearing a bright blue dress bursts through the door, racing over to where Isabella is seated, "Izzy! Izzy! How you seen my earrings anywhere? I have to meet Tank in five minutes and if I don't have them then-ooh pot roast!" Kea says, eyeing the pot roast that is on the table, grabbing herself a slice.

Isabella stands up from the table, clearly confused, "Kea, what are you doing here?" she asks her friend, who is now devouring the meat in front of her, "I thought you were supposed to be going on a date with Tank."

"I _am _on a date with Tank," Kea says in a duh-like fashion, "I just realized that I forgot to put on my earrings."

"So you decided to just break into my house and eat a pot roast?" Isabella questions, trying to follow where the thought process was on that one.

"Psh, I didn't break into your house," Kea corrects her with a sassy shrug, "Someone left the door unlocked," Kea concludes, licking her plate clean.

"Kea! Kea, is that you?" a voice sounds from the front door. Isabella, Kea and the others watch as Tank steps through the door, clearly disheveled and exhausted. He sighs, brushing himself off a bit before walking over to his girlfriend, "Kea! You can't just walk into random people's houses and start eating their food! We have to go, our reservation's in a half hour and-" Tank stops when he notices eight sets of eyes staring at him, "What's this, some sort of dinner party?"

Isabella smiles, giving a nervously laugh as she turns Tank and Kea towards her parents; an arm around each of her friends, "Guys, this is Ripp's older brother Tank and my best friend, Kea."

"_Meat loving_ best friend," Kea corrects Isabella.

"Right," Isabella nods, her arm still around her, "How could I forget that?"

"You lead a very strange life, dear," Alban states from the head of the table.

Kea claps her hands in excitement, "Hey, that's what I said!" she exclaims, holding up her hand to him, "High-five Mr. Serious Dude!"

Tank sweat drops, "Uh, we should leave."


	26. Junior Year: Surprises, Surprises

_Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt_

_Chapter Twenty-five_

_Junior Year: Surprises, Surprises_

Tank and Kea are situated at one of the red velvet booths located in the back of Strangetown's only restaurant, which was appropriately named, _Le Strange_. Kea smiles as she holds up a candle centerpiece that is located on the table in front of her and sniffs it, before placing it back down on the table. "Wow, I can't believe I'm sitting inside of an actual restaurant," Kea says.

"I know, especially since half the city is on lockdown," Tank replies, "I had to purchase a special pass just to get us in here."

Kea nods, before scanning the scenery around her once more. She stops and gestures over to a group of people that are standing in a crowd near the entrance, "Hey, why are those people pointing at us?"

Tank scrunches his forehead in confusion before turning around and taking a look at the crowd. He turns back to Kea with a shrug, "Huh, I don't know," he responds, "Maybe they're surprised that I'm actually on a date with a real girl."

"Aww," Kea states, loving placing her hand on top of his. Behind her, one of the members of the gang is approaching.

"Excuse me, but are you Tank Grunt?" the man asks.

Tank turns to Kea for a moment, unsure if he wants to answer this question, "Um, yes."

"Tell your brother Ripp that he better not set foot in this neighborhood ever again," the man states.

"Excuse me?" Tank stands up in his seat, fists clenched on the table.

"You heard me, the entire neighborhood's on lockdown making sure that he doesn't get in here," the man explains, "He's been officially exiled by the Leader."

"The Leader?" Kea repeats, "That doesn't sound good."

"Hah," Tank replies, his arms now crossed, "Well joke's on you buddy, cause my brother already made it past your stupid guards and is occupying Strangetown as we speak."

"Really? Well in that case-" the man steps back, and throws the corner of his shirt up, exposing his black metallic belt with many different buttons surrounding the sides. He presses the square one in the middle causing a bunch of red lights to flicker off and on in the building, sirens sounding the street as the city appears to go into total panic, "-he won't be here for long," the man completes, Tank stepping back from the table in shock protecting Kea, who is standing behind him, unsure of what to do or where to look.

"Tank!" Kea shouts, grabbing onto him.

Tank turns to Kea, his voice in a panic as the gang prepares to leave, taking out a bunch of hidden weapons from their pockets, "Come on, let's get out of here!"

Kea nods, as the two of them rush towards the exit and out the back door, hand-in-hand, racing down the street towards the South End of Strangetown.

"I don't understand, why would the Leader of Strangetown ban Ripp?" Kea asks, taking off her heels and running bare-foot.

"I don't know, but I'm sure we'll find out soon enough," Tank answers, eyeing the open exit that is laid out in front of them, "Let's just hope that the dinner ended early."

_Meanwhile: At the eXtremes_

Ripp, Isabella, Brent, Breanna, and the rest of the eXtremes are still situated at the table, only empty plates and cups remaining in front of them.

"Well, your friends sure sound interesting," Lenda says to them, clearing a few of the plates from off of the dinner table.

Ripp nods in agreement, "Oh believe me, there is never a dull moment when those two are around," he states. Across from him, Brent is getting up from out of his seat.

"Hey Brent, where are you going?" Breanna asks, refolding her napkin.

"Oh, I have to get something from the living room, I'll be right back," he answers, before disappearing down the hallway; Isabella begins to ponder.

"Ah-ha!" Isabella shouts as she snatches the bag from Brent, who is coming out of the living room to head back towards the dinner table, "I knew it! You _are_ planning on proposing to Breanna! You're the one who bought the engagement ring!"

Brent stops back, clearly confused, "Breanna? Engagement ring?" he repeats, "What the heck are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me," Isabella replies, clutching onto the white-handled shiny silver bag tightly, "I know this bag belongs to you!" she states, shaking it lightly in front of him.

"Yeah, the bag does," he agrees, "But the ring doesn't-take a look at the receipt." Isabella pauses for a moment to look down where Brent is pointing. Sure enough, he is correct. His name is nowhere to be seen.

Isabella looks up at Brent, the receipt still in her hands, "Wait, so if you weren't who bought the engagement ring, then who did?"

"Look at who charged for the ring," Brent states, gesturing down towards the bottom.

Isabella's eyes trail down to read the charger's name at the bottom, she gasps.

_Meanwhile: In Downtown Strangetown_

Tank and Kea are sitting down in front of the large pool that occupies most of the Road to Nowhere Lot, their feet dangling off of the edge of the pool into the water. Both clearly exhausted from all of the running they previous did. "Gosh Kea, I'm sorry our date didn't really go as planned," Tank apologizes.

Next to him, Kea smiles, "Oh, that's okay," she says, leaning on his right shoulder, "Random dates are more fun anyways, even if I still can't feel my legs."

Tank smiles for bit, before turning back forward, his eyes trailing down to gaze at the water.

"Tank?" Kea softly speaks into the silence, "Are you okay?" she asks.

"Yeah," Tank quickly responds, nodding, as he starts to reach into his pocket, giving her a reassuring smile, "Everything's perfect," he concludes, wrapping his arm around her.

_Meanwhile: Back at the eXtremes_

"Hey mom, all of us pitched in and got you this gift," Brent says, returning to the table with Isabella close behind him. He holds out the bag to his mother, who gladly takes it from him.

"Oh Brent, that's so sweet of you guys," she replies, looking into the bag and giving him a hug, "Thank you all, very much."

"Well, we should probably head out of here before it gets too late and our RA wonders what happened to half of the dormitory," Brent says, waiting for Breanna to get up from out of her seat, "Come on Breanna, let's go," he states, heading towards the door. He stops a few inches short and turns to his younger sister, "Oh and Izzy, can you help me with something when we get back to Cassandra's dorm?" he asks.

"Uh, sure," Isabella responds, somewhat off-guard, "That sounds fine."

"Great!" Brent replies, "See you guys later!" he says, him and Breanna giving a small wave before taking off out the door. Outside, sirens are going off.

Upon hearing this, Lenda steps towards the window, "Huh, I wonder what all that ruckus is about."

Ripp shrugs, stepping towards the living room couch, "Who knows in this crazy town."

"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!" a voice blares from the outside. Everyone watches as a group of police cars drive up the street and park onto the eXtreme's front lawn.

Alban squints his eyes, "What the-?"

All of a sudden one of the front doors crashes down to the floor, exposing three gentlemen who are dressed in all black, minus their metallic belts. One of them points to Ripp, "There he is! GET HIM!"

"What? Hey!" Ripp shouts as one of the men grabs him from behind, and holds his hands behind his back.

"How dare you try and come back here! You have no place here in Strangetown!" the man warns, "Just for that you're really going to get it!"

Ripp struggles a bit, hoping to free himself from the man's clutches, but having next to no luck. "What are you talking about?" Ripp squeaks, clearly scared, "I didn't do anything!"

"Not yet, you haven't," the man answers back, "But you will," he says, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a taser, "Now quit struggling, or I'll be forced to take drastic action."

"Hah!" Gramma eXtreme shouts, tackling the guard to the floor, causing Ripp to be released from his clutches. She quickly looks up, turning towards her granddaughter, "Run kids, run!"

Ripp and Isabella frantically nod before taking off down the street through the other entrance door. "Wow, where did your grandmother learn how to do that?" Ripp asks, huffing through his tux jacket.

"Eh, she's been teaching courses for years," Isabella answers, rounding the corner of a nearby building. The two stop to take a few breathers.

After a few moments, Isabella opens her mouth to ask the question that they've all been thinking. "What was all that about?"

"I don't know," was all Ripp could muster, "But something tells me that whatever it is, it's not good – especially not for me."

One of the guards spots the pair and blows his whistle, "There they are! GET THEM!" he shouts, causing Ripp and Isabella to take off down the street once more. This time however, being much more tired than before.

"We're almost at the county line," Ripp says between breaths, "If we make it there then they can no longer arrest us!"

"Then come on!" Isabella exclaims, grabbing Ripp by the hand and leading him towards the exit. The pair race across the line just in time, causing the guards to reluctantly stop short of the border.

"That's right, you better run!" one of the guards shouts at the pair, who continue running in the distance, "DON'T YOU EVER COME BACK! BY THE ORDER OF LOKI BEAKER YOU – RIPP GRUNT – ARE BANISHED FROM STRANGETOWN _FOREVER_!"

Finally, Ripp and Isabella stop running. The pair panting heavily as Ripp attempts to smooth out his disheveled clothes; Isabella hanging onto him. "I just don't understand," Ripp says into silence of the night, "What do they want with me? What kind of horrible thing have I done?"

Isabella sighs, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. She says nothing.

_Meanwhile: Back in Downtown Strangetown_

Tank and Kea are now situated on the wooden park bench which is near the poolside, Tank slowly inching away from her. "Kea?" Tank says into the silence of the beautiful night, "You know I love you right?"

"Believe me, I am aware," Kea nods with a smile.

"So uh, there's something I have to tell you," Tank says, sliding completely off of the park bench and onto the cement in front of her. Tank reaches into his pocket and pulls out a fuzzy black box, "Kea Kalson, I have been in love with you since the moment I saw you and every moment I spend with you has been the greatest moment of my life," Tank says, shaking a bit as he kneels down in front of his girlfriend, "Now I know I that could never deserve you, but you would make me the happiest man in the world if you agreed to be my wife," Tank continues, "So Kea, will you marry me?" Tank completes, opening up the ring box and exposing the golden engagement ring. After a few moments, Tank looks over, noticing Kea staring off into space. "Uh, Kea?"

Kea glances back at him, "Hmm?"

"I'm proposing to you."

"Oh! I'm sorry, I thought you were practicing for a play," Kea says waving her hand.

Tank looks up, smiling a bit, "I wasn't practicing this time Kea, I'm proposing to you, right now," Tank attempts to clarify.

"Ooh. You mean I'm the one that's proposing?" Kea questions, seemingly confused, "Huh, but I don't live in Cassandra's dorm!" she points out.

Tank shakes his head, "No sweetie, I live there."

Kea tilts her head in confusion. "The what now?" Tank facepalms.

"Look, the whole play thing and dorm thing doesn't matter, what matters is that I want you to marry me," Tank says, still kneeling in front of her, "So Kea, what do you say?"

"I say – hey look a bird!" Kea shouts, jumping up from out of her seat and racing towards the red-breasted robin, who is flying around on the community lot.

Tank watches as she chases the robin around the area for a few minutes, before catching him and taking him over to show Tank. "Aww look, it's a robin!" Kea coos, lovingly bringing the bird up to her face and rubbing it tenderly against her cheek, "I'm going to name him Clarence! And nothing will ever come between us and our plan for world domination…NOTHING!" Kea growls, seeing this, Tank stands up from his spot, kneeling, and walks over to the two of them.

"Umm, Kea? Are you going to marry me or not?" Tank asks.

"Ooh, you're proposing to me? I thought you were proposing to get a sandwich!" Kea states, letting the bird go, "Okay, do it again! Do it again!" Kea says, stopping to stand right in front of her boyfriend.

"Kea Kalson, you are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me, will you do me the honor of being my wife?" Tank asks, holding the ring out in front of him, the golden band shining with the light from the stars.

"Oh Tank, yes! Yes I will!" Kea replies, taking the ring from him and placing it on her left ring finger, "This is even better than the day I purchased that Alaskan bacon!" Kea beams, lifting Tank up a bit and kissing him a few times. "This is the best moment of my life!"

Tank smiles, "Mine too."

"_Caw! Caw! Caw!_" something sounds in the distance.

"Hey what was that?" Kea asks, scanning the area surrounding them.

"I don't know-" Tank speaks, something catching his eye, "Uh, Kea? It looks like that bird you caught had some friends," Tank states, pointing up at the sky. Sure enough, about a few dozen robins are flying towards them.

Kea continues to gaze up at the robins, "Hey, what are they doing-?" Kea shrieks as a pile of white bird poo lands on her left arm. "BIRD POOP!" Kea shouts, as the two of them race down the street, the birds chasing – and pooping - after them.

_Meanwhile: At Cassandra's Dorm_

"So, what did you want me to help you with Brent?" Isabella asks, standing in the doorway of her older brother's dorm room. Ever since she and Ripp had gotten back from the whole lockdown incident Brent had been strangely quiet.

"Here, come in, come in," Brent says, gesturing Isabella into the room and away from the door. She takes the hint and walks in, carefully closing the door behind her.

"Now what I am about to say is going to make absolutely no sense, but I want you to hear me out, alright?" Brent prematurely warns his little sister. Isabella nods. "Isabella, I want to reprogram me and make a Family sim," he states.

Isabella opens her mouth to speak, but Brent quickly covers it with his hand, "Please don't say anything. Trust me, this is nothing new. Ever since that whole incident with Breanna, I've been feeling rather guilty and ashamed of my lifestyle, and dad's praising of your great life choices didn't exactly make me feel any better," he says, pulling his hand away from her.

"Brent, are you sure you want to do this?" Isabella asks him, "What if you don't like being a Family sim?"

"I'll like it," Brent responds, "After all, I liked the stable life that you and I had growing up, and I like our family and I'd love to have one of my own someday," Brent reasons.

"Well alright, it's your decision," Isabella says, "But why do you want me to reprogram you? Can't you get Breanna to do it?" she asks.

"No," Brent shakes his head, "You don't understand, Breanna can't know about this," he answers.

"_Brent_," Isabella, her voice suddenly filled with an angry tone, "I can't believe you're trying to keep this from her. I can't believe that you would try to play her again!"

Brent gets up from off of his bed and walks over to her, "I'm not playing her."

Isabella's face softens. "You're not?"

"No," Brent replies, "I'm proposing to her," he confesses.

Isabella stands there for a moment, speechless. "But-but I thought you weren't the one proposing this year!"

"I'm not," Brent answers, "I mean, I'm not proposing now, but getting ready to next year. – You know, provided that she takes me back."

"So this is one big surprise for Breanna Bertino, huh?" Isabella says, arms crossed and smirking.

Brent nods, "Yep."

"Boy, aren't you full of surprises," Isabella states.

"Yeah, so are you going to reprogram me or not?" Brent states, turning towards the Renuyusenso Orb, which has only three shiny green lights remaining, Isabella nods.

"Sure," she replies, "But just to warn you, you're going to think that the upstairs lounge is _really_ purple."

_Fifteen Minutes Later: In the Main Lounge_

"Well that was quite a day," Ripp states, as Isabella takes a seat down next to him on the brown leather couch in the first floor main lounge. She lets out a sigh.

"You're telling me, I've never had to run so fast in my life," she states, grabbing the latest _Life in Pleasantview _magazine from the corner table.

Ripp nods in agreement, "Yeah, now let's never do that again."

Isabella raises up her free hand and fist pumps somewhat unenthusiastically, "Hear, hear."

The entrance doors open, causing the pair to look up from the magazine, watching as Tank and Kea step into the doorway covered head to toe in bird crap. Ripp and Isabella walk over to the pair, confused, yet somewhat intrigued at the same time.

"What happened to you guys?" Isabella asks.

"And why does it smell like bird crap?" Ripp adds, holding his nose in an attempt to save his nostrils from the stench.

Kea smiles, "Never mind that," she says, holding up her hand, exposing her golden engagement ring, which is surprising still bird poop-free, "We just got engaged!" she beams.

"Now let's hurry and get inside before the birds crap on the ring, too," Tank states, leading the two of them through the doorway.

"Wow guys, congratulations," Ripp says, stepping back just enough so that their bird poop-covered bodies avoid him.

Isabella nods, "Yeah, I'm really happy for you two," she states.

"Thanks guys," Tank replies, "Now we definitely need to take a shower." He says, as he and Kea part ways to use the bathroom.

Once Ripp is sure they are out of ear-shot, he turns to Isabella, still clearly disgusted by the bird poop covering, "When the time comes, remind me never to make the mistake of proposing to you outside," he states.

Isabella nods, holding her finger up in a point, "Will do."

_A Few Hours & Several Showers Later:_

"Wow Tank, I can't believe that you and Kea are engaged now," Ripp says, as he follows Tank from the kitchen back to the main lounge to rejoin the girls.

"I can't either, and I'm the one he's marrying," Kea adds from her place sitting inside of the lounge, causing Isabella to smile.

Tank nods as he stops in the center of the main lounge, standing nearby the wooden bookcase, completely oblivious to the door that is opening up behind him. "I'm so happy. Nothing could ruin this moment-"

"Kea?" an unfamiliar voice speaks from the doorway. Tank turns around, all attentions in the room now placed on the strange blonde haired, blue-eyed man standing in front of them, as Kea slowly sits up from her chair, clearly shaken.

"Andrew?" she says.

Isabella gazes intently with Ripp at the two men who are awkwardly standing on either side of her best friend.

"Oh no."

_End of Junior Year._


	27. Senior Year: Where Are We Now?

_Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt_

_Chapter Twenty-six_

_Senior Year: Where Are We Now?_

"I'm going to lose her, I'm going to lose her - Oh gosh! I'm going to lose her!" Tank Grunt says as he frantically paces back and forth inside of the main room on the upper floor of Cassandra's dormitory, before giving up and flopping down on the brown leather couch. Next to him, Ripp looks up from his textbook, which reads, "The Literature Behind Psychology" on the cover.

"Tank, will you calm down? Everything's going to be fine!" Ripp states, watching as Tank gives a sigh, pulling himself off of the couch to pace around the room some more, "Plus, all of your pacing is making me surprisingly nauseous," Ripp comments, turning his attentions back towards his textbook, skimming the next paragraph, "Hey, look at this!" Ripp exclaims, turning the textbook around to show Tank, his finger pointing to the gigantic color photo that is on the right hand side of it, "Apparently if a sim dies while a family member is present, the family member has the opportunity to save their life," Ripp explains, tapping on the photo of a happy sim who is hugging their family member who was miraculously brought back to life, the Resurrect-O-Nomitron standing next to them, "All they have to do is correctly choose which hand the Grim Reaper is holding their loved one's soul in," Ripp adds.

Tank sighs, stopping to gaze at the photo for a moment, the object situated next to the two sims seeming oddly familiar. Tank shakes his head, temporarily erasing the thought from his mind to maintain his focus on what he believed to be bigger matters, "Ripp, can we please focus here? Just tell me how to get Kea back!" he shouts, looking down at his brother in desperation.

Ripp scrunches his eyebrows in confusion, unsure of what Tank is getting at, "Get her back?" Ripp says, moving his textbook down a bit towards his lap, "But you already have her."

Tank stops pacing and turns to Ripp, his shoulders slumped. "I know," Tank sighs, "But come on, just look at Andrew!" Tank states, gesturing towards the window, where Andrew and Kea are seen two floors below in the yard happily conversing, "He's everything Kea wanted. And if he hadn't have broken up with her, they probably would've gotten married."

"Come on, you don't know that," Ripp speaks up from his seat on the couch, "Besides, that doesn't matter. She's with you now. She chose you over him okay? Whatever they had, it's over."

Tank looks at Ripp for a moment, before turning back towards the window. He watches as Kea laughs, seemingly having a good time with Andrew. A worried expression forms on Tank's face, "But what if it's not?" he says with a sigh.

"Tank, you worry too much, Kea's not going to leave you," Ripp says, turning yet another page in his book.

"Right, and how sure are you on that?" Tank asks, stepping towards his brother, his arms crossed.

Ripp shrugs, not bothering to take his eyes off of his course material, "Eh, at least over fifteen percent," he states, turning the page once more.

Tank glares at Ripp, seemingly unconvinced by his answer, before grabbing Ripp's book by the spine and tossing it over his shoulder. It lands inside of a nearby fireplace and bursts into flames, causing Ripp to stand up and race over to it. Ripp bends forward, looking over at the burnt remains of his textbook for a bit, before turning back to Tank, with a look that said 'Are you kidding me?'

Ripp steps forward, his face surprisingly calm as he slowly holds his hand up, gesturing towards his brother, "Question, did you really need to throw my textbook in the fire?" he asks, before continuing on with more emphasis, "Did you _really _need to do that?"

"Yes."

Ripp groans, astonished that his brother responded so quickly without so much as a second thought. Ripp rolls his eyes with a sigh as he plops back down on the couch, his older brother stopping in front of him.

"Focus Ripp, I'm in the middle of a crisis here," Tank explains, throwing his hands out in a panic before re-crossing them again, "Gosh! Does everything always have to be about you?" he asks.

Ripp sits up, "Well this story is called 'Sim State University Versus _Ripp Grunt_," he reminds him.

Tank sighs, shaking his head at his little brother, "Ripp, don't break the fourth wall."

"Sorry," Ripp apologetically squeaks, tensing up and looking down at the floor with puppy dog-like innocence in his eyes.

Tank nods, continuing to pace back and forth in front of him. He stops, looking for support from his brother, "But as I was saying when I was freaking out earlier, what am I going to do? Kea's my whole life!"

Ripp glances up, a small smile on his face, hoping that this would give Tank some kind of reassurance with the whole situation, "Don't worry Tank, you can always get a new life. In fact, I can see it now…"

Tank groans, feeling a daydream of a possible future – his future - coming on in the pit of his stomach. "Oh no."

_Daydream_

Ripp is stepping out of his dorm room, a box filled with his belongings in hand. He walks next door in front of his brother's room and stops in the doorway. "Hey Tank, I'm almost done packing up. Do you want me to help you?" Ripp asks, turning his head to face him, jumping up a little when he sees Tank, "Aww geez!" Ripp exclaims, glancing down at his belongings which are now spread across the floor.

"Hey Ripp, what do you think huh?" Tank speaks up, stepping towards him, holding a pillow in one hand, "Do you think this looks like Kea?" he asks, holding up the pillow, which has a scribbled on marker face on it, complete with silver eyes and blonde hair. It is dressed in a tissue paper dress that somewhat resembles their friend's. Ripp shrieks.

"Tank! What the heck is that?" Ripp asks, pointing to the deformed pillow that is situated in his hands.

Tank sighs, holding the pillow up a bit more, "Why it's Kea, silly! Isn't she hot?" Tank asks, giving the pillow a gentle stroke of his hand, "I'm getting hot just looking at her," Tank adds, causing Ripp to step back in fear, a look of utmost disturbance on his face. He watches as Tank moves forward, pushing the pillow closer to him, "Now come here, sexy!" Tank states, wrapping his arms around it.

"Thank goodness, for a minute there I thought he was talking to me," Ripp says, gripping the empty cardboard box that is now in his hands a little tighter, as he watches his brother proceed to passionately make out with a pillow that looked like his ex-girlfriend. "Now this is therapy-worthy."

_End of Daydream._

Ripp shakes his head, causing the thought bubble above him to pop. He turns to his brother, "Yeah, that's not going to work."

"No," Tank adds, quickly shaking his head in agreement after viewing the horror of the possible future as well.

"But you know, if Kea doesn't work out you can always marry Lyndsey," Ripp kindly suggests.

Tank leans back a bit, waving his hand jokingly pushing away such a thought, "Psh, yeah right, like I'd ever be caught dead with that-" Tank turns around, making eye contact with Lyndsey who is just stepping out of her room, her eyebrow raised. "With that piece of wonderful townie, heh heh," Tank quickly completes, nervously rubbing the back of his head.

"Whatever," Lyndsey states with a roll of her eyes before taking off down the flight of stairs nearby.

Ripp sighs, shaking his head in pity, "Just when you thought more people couldn't hate you," he comments, watching as Tank walks back over to the window.

"Eh, I don't care if she hates me, just as long as Kea doesn't," Tank says, leaning his elbow back up against the window ledge to look back down at his fiancé. He watches as the two of them throw a frisbee back and forth outside. Tank ponders, watching as Kea tosses the frisbee back to Andrew, the toy gently gliding through the air, "I wonder if Kea is still in love with him…?" he contemplates suddenly.

Ripp steps forward behind him, his arms spread out, "What difference does it make, Tank? She's with you! You guys are engaged," Ripp reminds him, "Do you honestly think that she would leave you for this jerky guy that broke her heart years ago?"

"No," Tank answers, turning away from the window, "But I don't know, I guess I'm just scared. Everything has been going so great, I'm not sure how much longer it can last," Tank tells him, "I mean, you can't tell me that after all the years you and Isabella have been dating that you've never had doubts that the relationship wasn't going to last."

Ripp walks over to Tank and sighs, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Well yeah, but I think every sim that has been in a serious relationship has had that thought cross their mind from time to time," Ripp says, before looking up a bit and glancing around the room, "Speaking of Isabella, where is that girl anyway?"

"I thought she was with you," Tank says, pulling back from his brother.

Ripp groans, pulling his hand off of Tank's shoulder, "Why would you possibly think that? I've been standing right in front of you for the last twenty minutes!" he exclaims, hoping that his brother saw the stupidity in his previous statement.

"Hey, I'm not the one who lost their girlfriend," Tank reminds him, watching as Ripp crosses his arms in annoyance and turns to him.

"Just shut-up and help me find her."

_Meanwhile: Inside of the Cafeteria_

Isabella is standing near the back door of Cassandra's dorm cafeteria, leaning out from behind the doorframe. She watches as Kea converses with Andrew outside, seemingly having a good time with her ex-boyfriend. She feels a light tap on her shoulder, causing Isabella to jump up, startled. She quickly turns around only to find her older brother, Brent, standing behind her, suspicion in his eyes. Isabella sighs, her hand placed delicately on her upper chest, trying to regain her composure. "Oh my gosh, you scared me. What are you doing here?" she asks him.

"What am I doing? What are you doing?" Brent asks, watching as his sister turns back towards the doorway, moving her head around trying to get a look at something that is going on past the back patio, "You playing giraffe or something?"

Isabella shakes her head, still trying to see around her brother, "No," she replies.

Brent narrows his eyes, "Then why are you looking out the window as if your life depended on it?" he questions. He steps back a bit, just enough to get a glimpse of what Isabella is looking out, "Oh, I get it. You're curious about Andrew, aren't you?"

"Uh, I guess you could say that," Isabella says, attempting to move around him.

Brent sighs, grabbing his sister gently by the arms, "Then what exactly are you doing?" Brent asks, genuinely wanting to know the answer.

Isabella steps back for a moment, a small sigh escaping from her lips, as she turns back to him. She knew that nothing would stop Brent from trying to find out the truth, "Nothing," she says, "I just don't want her to get hurt again."

"Who, Kea?" Brent asks, Isabella gesturing outside. Brent looks back, giving Isabella a small smile, somewhat touched by his little sister's concern, "Look, I don't blame you, I wouldn't want her to get hurt by him either - No one does. But sometimes you have to let your friends make mistakes, even if it's hard on them," Brent states, placing a reassuring hand on Isabella's shoulder, "Or hard on you," Brent adds.

Isabella sighs, turning away from the back patio, her hand still resting on the door with a sigh, "I know," she says, "But she's always looked out for me and – she's my best friend."

"Trust me Izzy, it would be best if you just stay out of this and let Kea make her own choices," Brent says; Isabella turns towards him, seemingly unconvinced by his suggestion.

"Are you sure about that?" Isabella asks, "This is Kea we're talking about here, you know, _that _Kea," Isabella says, gesturing to the door.

Brent stops and turns around. Kea is standing across the backyard, balancing a bucket on her head. "Look Andrew! I'm Kea the dancing flower pot!"

Brent sweat drops, quickly turning back towards Isabella, his face flushed in point, "On second thought, you do have a point there." Isabella nods.

"Who has a point?" a voice sounds behind them. Isabella screams, only to be met by a confused expression from Tank, "Hey, I found her!" Tank shouts, calling back to his younger brother.

Isabella exhales, her hand replaced on her upper chest, clearly startled, "Will you guys please stop doing that? You scared me half to bits!"

"What, is that a thing now?" Tank asks; his face tilted in confusion.

Isabella groans, shaking her head. All of a sudden, Ripp comes over from inside the kitchen, his face lighting up when he sees her. "Izzy, there you are!" Ripp says, pulling his girlfriend into a hug, "I was looking all over for you and- " He looks down, noticing that Isabella is shivering, "Uh, why are you shaking?" he asks, looking up at Brent and Tank for some sort of explanation to this rather strange situation.

Tank nods, "We scared her to bits," he states, answering the question.

"Oh. Is that a thing now?" Ripp asks, the realization hitting him.

Next to them, Brent groans, face-palming, "Never mind that, we need to get out of here before Kea catches us spying on her!" he exclaims.

"Kea?" Ripp speaks up in wonder; Brent gestures behind him towards the door. Ripp turns around, only to get a glimpse of her and Andrew conversing in the backyard, "Ah, watching Kea, huh?" Ripp states, turning his attentions back towards Isabella, "Yeah, Tank's been doing that all morning."

"Ripp!" Tank chimes in, nudging him in the side, slightly embarrassed.

Isabella looks up at Ripp, gently shifting in his arms as she pulls away from him, sniffing his shirt a bit, "Uh, why do you smell like ash?"

"Let's just say that thanks to Tank, I now have to spend seventy dollars on a new textbook," Ripp responds, giving his older brother an annoyed glare.

In front of him, Tank smirks, his arms crossed in sassiness, "You're welcome," he says.

"Well, as much as I would love to stay and chat with you guys, I'm going to head out now," Brent tells them, grabbing his coat off of a nearby kitchen table chair and lightly swinging it over his shoulder.

Isabella steps forward, pulling away from Ripp and walking over to Brent, "And where are you going?" she asks him.

"I'm going to see Breanna," Brent answers turning towards the door that leads into the living room, "I heard she got a job at South State Café and I promised I visit her and order something," he concludes, met with a small nod from the three of them. "I'll catch you guys later," Brent states, giving somewhat of a salute goodbye.

"Bye Brent!" Isabella waves back, before turning back towards the Grunt brothers, Ripp placing his hand down.

"Speaking of work, I have to go and do - Not _that_," Ripp says, after seeing the intrigued looks on Isabella and Tank's faces, "_Dang it Ripp! When are you going to learn when to keep your mouth shut!" _Ripp thinks to himself, "So uh yeah, I'm going to do something else that has absolutely nothing to do with what Brent was just talking about – see you later!" Ripp finishes, before racing out into the hallway, leaving his brother and his girlfriend dumbfounded.

"Well okay then," Tank pipes up.

"_Geez that was close," _Ripp thinks, quickly racing behind the wall leading up to the hallway, _"That almost started a whole line of questioning. They just can't find out about my job, then they would be asking what I need the money for, and they can't know that! Especially not Isabella," _Ripp says, peaking over at the two of them, who are still standing near the backdoor. Ripp sighs, going into his dorm room and pulling out his coat. He sighs, putting it on, "Well, odd job service here I come," Ripp quietly states, reaching into his navy blue coat pocket and pulling out his cell phone. He presses the number '5' on speed dial, "Hey Johnny? It's Ripp. I need a favor…"

_Meanwhile: Back Inside of the Cafeteria_

Tank is holding Isabella up horizontally by the midsection, positioning her so that she can see clearly out of the doorway facing the back patio. "Can you see anything?" Tank asks, trying to dodge Isabella's left leg, which barely missed kicking him in the face.

"No," Isabella replies with a sigh attempting to get a better view, "Face it Tank, Brent is probably right. Maybe we should just leave this situation alone and let Kea do her own thing."

Tank groans, having a hard time steadying Isabella upright, "And let her run away and fall into the arms of her ex-lover?" he squeaks.

"Who said that was going to happen?" Isabella asks, pushing her hands up against the wall, hoping to prevent herself from falling onto the pavement.

"Me!" Tank replies, Isabella groans.

"Tank, trust me, that's not going to happen. Kea loves you," Isabella states, straining her neck a bit to make eye contact with him.

Tank cocks his head, forehead scrunched, "Right, and how sure are you on that?" he asks.

"Sure enough," Isabella says, inching her way up against the doorframe, "Now can you please let me go before I lose all the feeling in my left leg?"

Tank quickly steps back, helping Isabella back into her original standing position, "Oh sorry," he says, letting her go. Tank watches as Isabella brushes herself off for a moment, before looking down at the shiny silver watch that his father gave him for his birthday, "Well, I would stick around, but I should probably head to the library before it closes. I would like to get a head start on my term paper," Tank explains, heading towards the front door, "It's worth thirty percent of my grade," he informs her.

"Sounds like a good plan to me. Catch you around!" Isabella waves goodbye, watching as Tank disappears out the door. Isabella sighs, gently placing her hand down as she finds herself once again alone in the kitchen. "He doesn't seem all that worried about it," Isabella says, her hand trailing slowly down her right arm, lost in thought, "I wish I was convinced that everything will turn out alright," Isabella says, making her way back towards the backdoor.

Isabella stops at the doorway, attempting to peek around the corner, searching for her best friend's whereabouts. "Looking for someone?" a voice chimes out suddenly, causing Isabella to frantically turn around, finding herself face-to-face with no other than Kea Kalson herself.

"Oh gosh! Kea, you scared me!" Isabella shouts, her hand returning to its fearful position on top of her upper chest, "You have got to stop doing that."

Kea steps forward, her arms crossed in a rather sassy fashion, "Cheesily noted," she states, pulling out a little notebook which reads 'I Love Bacon' on the cover and scribbling it down before placing it back into one of her lavender purse pockets, "Now tell me again why were you spying on Andrew and I?" Kea says, pointing at her friend accusingly.

Isabella looks up at Kea ashamed. Realizing that she had no choice, Isabella sighs, preparing to tell her best friend the truth, "I'm just worried about you, Kea," she answers, thinking that when being caught in a circumstance such as this, it would be better to say as little as possible.

"Don't be," Kea fires, the suddenness of her response causing Isabella to step back, rather shocked, "Isabella, I'm twenty-one years old," she begins, "Don't you think I'm old enough to start making my own decisions?"

"No," Isabella quickly disagrees, watching as Kea holds her hand out hoping to gently hush her.

"Don't answer that," Kea continues, Isabella's face being met with her hand. Isabella sighs, giving Kea a look of annoyance at the gesturing hand in front of her. "The point is I am finally happy. In fact, I already have the rest of my life all figured out!" Kea exclaims.

Isabella steps back, her arms crossed, "That's what I'm afraid of," she mutters.

Kea walks forward, crouching in front of her friend, placing one of her hands on each of Isabella's shoulders, "Izzy, you'll always be my friend right? No matter what choice I make?" Kea asks, her eyes shining with hope.

Isabella looks at the ground before looking back up at Kea, a small smile on her face, "Of course Kea, you know I'll always be behind you one hundred percent," Isabella answers, sincerity filling her voice.

"Thank goodness! Cause originally I was thinking about going to White Castle for lunch, but now that I think about it, I think Red Lobster seems like the better choice," Kea replies, standing up, bouncing off of Isabella's shoulders a bit as she grabs her purse. "If I leave now, I should still be able to make their lunch deal," Kea says, heading towards the door. She stops when she notices Isabella still crouched down on the kitchen floor, her mind appearing to be elsewhere, "Hey Isabella, are you coming?" she asks, walking over to her and gently pulling her up by the shoulder.

"Yeah," Isabella replies, relieved to find her friend next to her, "But Kea?"

"Yes?" Kea answers.

"Just be sure that whatever choice you make, it turns out to be the right one," Isabella says, getting on her feet and grabbing her coat, "You know, the one that makes you the most happy."

Kea smiles, giving a small laugh as she heads towards the door with her best friend, "Well yeah, I always do that! And Red Lobster is clearly the better choice on a Tuesday," Kea concludes, playfully swinging her purse by the strap, "Honestly Izzy, sometimes I think you worry too much."

Isabella stops at the entrance doorway, turning around a bit to face her friend, smiling, "Nah, I think I worry just the right amount."


End file.
